Scotiabank Begins Coverage on Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX)

Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “sector outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.01% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.83.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $81.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,111. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.06 and a 200 day moving average of $89.12. Southwest Gas has a one year low of $76.74 and a one year high of $94.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.79% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm had revenue of $358.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.18) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 301.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 107.4% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 137.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the first quarter worth about $163,000. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc is a regulated energy company that provides natural gas distribution services through its subsidiary, Southwest Gas Corporation. The utility delivers natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers, primarily in Arizona, Nevada and portions of California, serving communities across the desert Southwest.

The company’s utility operations include the acquisition, transportation and distribution of natural gas through a network of pipelines and related infrastructure.