Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Rating Upgraded by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $73.26 on Tuesday. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.75.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 78.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. The company operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. It also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.