Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Receives $73.40 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.80.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $74.92 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 30.21, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.18. Southwest Gas has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The company 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%. Southwest Gas’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 27,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

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.