Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Buy" Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

SWX has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:SWX traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.30. The company had a trading volume of 564,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,229. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.34 and a 200 day moving average of $72.71. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.47. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. raised 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 valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 4.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 1st quarter valued at about $952,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.