Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,254,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,542. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $72.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SWX. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter worth about $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 4.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,345 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the first quarter valued at approximately $952,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 13.7% in 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. Hedge funds and other 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.

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