Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.62

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, September 17th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th.

Southwest Gas has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 17 consecutive years. Southwest Gas has a payout ratio of 67.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Southwest Gas to earn $3.85 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 64.4%.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $73.41 on Thursday. Southwest Gas has a 12-month low of $56.17 and a 12-month high of $78.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.39.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.17). Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total value of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.