Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.80.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 279,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,771,000 after purchasing an additional 12,018 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 216,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,340,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX stock opened at $75.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.