Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Posts Earnings Results

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:SWX traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $73.03. The stock had a trading volume of 95,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 379,124. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.12 and its 200-day moving average is $73.54. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.38. Southwest Gas has a one year low of $57.03 and a one year high of $79.03. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total value of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,055.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

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.