Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $103.20 price target.
• Southwest Gas reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, in line with estimates, but revenue fell 9.6% year over year to $358.15 million, below the $416.20 million consensus.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 92.77%, including new positions from BlackRock, Bank of New York Mellon and Norges Bank.

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock opened at $82.55 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50-day moving average is $89.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.15. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $76.74 and a 1 year high of $94.46.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.79% and a net margin of 31.85%.The business had revenue of $358.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $991,549,000. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.9% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 2,126,927 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,830,000 after purchasing an additional 78,874 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,602,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $128,219,000 after buying an additional 9,515 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $74,324,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth $66,930,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc is a regulated energy company that provides natural gas distribution services through its subsidiary, Southwest Gas Corporation. The utility delivers natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers, primarily in Arizona, Nevada and portions of California, serving communities across the desert Southwest.

The company's utility operations include the acquisition, transportation and distribution of natural gas through a network of pipelines and related infrastructure.

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