Zacks Research Weighs in on Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc.'s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:SWX)

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) - Research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Southwest Gas in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.11 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.05. The consensus estimate for Southwest Gas' current full-year earnings is $3.41 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Southwest Gas' Q4 2024 earnings at $1.07 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.38 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.61 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.62 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup boosted their target price 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 raised Southwest Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 27th.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SWX traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $73.02. The company had a trading volume of 917,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,587. Southwest Gas has a one year low of $53.79 and a one year high of $76.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $68.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.25. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.36.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 22,510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,762,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,171 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,345,000 after acquiring an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 20.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 4,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 23.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 14,531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 116.98%.

About Southwest Gas

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.