Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $71.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas has a one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $80.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.90. The company has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SWX. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 216,942 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.