Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has raised its price target for Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00, reflecting a potential upside of 14.21% based on current market prices.
• Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating, increasing its price target from $76.00 to $84.00, contributing to the stock's overall positive outlook.
• Southwest Gas reported an EPS of $0.53 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, although its revenue fell 5.2% compared to the same period last year.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $88.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.45% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on SWX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.96. The stock had a trading volume of 100,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,126. The business's fifty day moving average is $77.99 and its 200-day moving average is $74.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.47, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55. Southwest Gas has a 1-year low of $64.69 and a 1-year high of $80.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 20.9% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 21.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.4% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,280,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

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.