Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.50.

Several research firms recently issued reports on SWX. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas by 905.3% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas by 223.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 194.6% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $81.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.65 and its 200-day moving average is $78.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $64.69 and a 12 month high of $83.23.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 11.59%.The business had revenue of $316.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.63%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.