Wall Street Zen Upgrades Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) to Buy

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWXFree Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on SWX

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $74.34 on Friday. Southwest Gas has a one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.74.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWXGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 4.66%. Southwest Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the first quarter worth approximately $952,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX)

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