Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.25.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.89. 486,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 385,035. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $72.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.24. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Southwest Gas's quarterly revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.74%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

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.