Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Rating Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Gas from “Hold” to “Sell,” contrasting with MarketBeat’s overall “Moderate Buy” consensus from six Buy ratings and one Hold rating, with an average price target of $101.83.
• Southwest Gas opened at $82.71, near the lower end of its 52-week range of $76.74 to $94.46. The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, in line with estimates, but revenue fell 9.6% year over year to $358.15 million and missed expectations.
• Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company, while an executive recently sold 2,500 shares at an average price of $81.81; insider ownership stands at 0.63%.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Southwest Gas from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Scotiabank started coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $103.00 target price on Southwest Gas in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.83.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $82.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Southwest Gas has a 1-year low of $76.74 and a 1-year high of $94.46. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.96.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 31.85% and a return on equity of 6.79%. The firm had revenue of $358.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Southwest Gas's revenue 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 expect that Southwest Gas will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, SVP Julie Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $204,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,163,874.50. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Gas in the second quarter worth about $991,549,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,324,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,930,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,572,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 106.9% during the 1st quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 699,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,797,000 after buying an additional 361,556 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc NYSE: SWX is an energy company whose principal business is the regulated distribution of natural gas through its Southwest Gas Corporation subsidiary. The utility delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers, providing an essential energy service for heating, cooking and business operations.

Southwest Gas serves customers across portions of Arizona, Nevada and California through an extensive network of pipelines and related infrastructure.

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