JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Price

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) had its price objective cut by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential downside of 1.44% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.80.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of SWX stock opened at $73.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.92 and its 200 day moving average is $73.17. Southwest Gas has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.43.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,823,000. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,755,000 after buying an additional 69,212 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 7,276.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after acquiring an additional 50,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 107.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 83,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,131 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.