Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on SWX shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 144.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $75.74 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.77 and a 200 day moving average of $73.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.