JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Price Target to $70.00

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.9 %

SWX opened at $71.25 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas has a fifty-two week low of $56.17 and a fifty-two week high of $78.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.18%. Southwest Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 4,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,743,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 154.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.