Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $98.29.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $90.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $75.75 and a 12 month high of $94.46. The company has a market cap of $6.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.56.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm had revenue of $358.15 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 33.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.