Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $82.54 and last traded at $82.2050, with a volume of 12185 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $82.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.50.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $316.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 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 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 38.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total value of $116,865,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,032,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SWX. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $541,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at about $406,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter worth about $94,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.2% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 93,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,315,000 after buying an additional 2,913 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Gas

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.