Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Hits New 12-Month High at $76.30

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $76.30 and last traded at $75.98, with a volume of 33436 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SWX. Citigroup upped their price objective on Southwest Gas from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 27th.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.66. The stock has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 35.85, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.36.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.16. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 2.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.27 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 116.98%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 22,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,762,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 24,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,890,000 after purchasing an additional 4,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 76,924 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,296,000 after purchasing an additional 14,531 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.