Southwest Gas’ (SWX) Hold (C) Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Weiss Ratings restated their hold (c) rating on shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) in a research report released on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on SWX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.33.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $82.05 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.52 and its 200 day moving average is $75.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Southwest Gas has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $82.08. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.54%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $116,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,032,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,015.2% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 4,690 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 8.0% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 10,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at $381,000. Finally, Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the first quarter valued at $1,163,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by 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.