Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on SWX. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Mizuho set a $103.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.25.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $92.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas has a 12-month low of $78.37 and a 12-month high of $94.46. The company has a market capitalization of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $87.19 and its 200-day moving average is $88.39.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $298.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $346.50 million. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 17.23% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.6450 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 62.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Julie Williams sold 2,500 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $204,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 26,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,163,874.50. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 169.5% in the third quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 318 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas provides regulated natural gas distribution service to homes and businesses in the southwestern United States. Its utility operations include delivering natural gas through local pipeline networks and maintaining the infrastructure needed to serve customers.

The company serves customers in Arizona and Nevada, as well as parts of California. Its service area includes major metropolitan regions and smaller communities across these states.

Southwest Gas traces its history to 1931 and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.