Bank of America Reiterates Underperform Rating for Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX)

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX)‘s stock had its “underperform” rating restated by analysts at Bank of America in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $73.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 1.59% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.50.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:SWX opened at $74.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $75.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $57.55 and a 52 week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 88.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,679 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 9,705 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 49.1% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,027,000 after buying an additional 19,922 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 192.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,755,000 after buying an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 599.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 8,464 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.