Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.62 (NYSE:SWX)

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th.

Southwest Gas has raised its dividend by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years. Southwest Gas has a dividend payout ratio of 65.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Southwest Gas to earn $4.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 60.3%.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $75.13. 241,196 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,292. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.76. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $53.79 and a 52 week high of $76.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 2.78%. Research analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

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.

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