Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on SWX. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 2.3%

SWX stock opened at $68.16 on Tuesday. Southwest Gas has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 79.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 78.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.