Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $88.74 and last traded at $88.3650, with a volume of 983608 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $87.98.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $99.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.40.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.44. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a PE ratio of 13.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.65.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 8,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Southwest Gas by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.