Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Upgraded at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $76.34 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. On average, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.