Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.03, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $585.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.52 million. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 6.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.58 EPS. Southwest Gas updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.170-4.320 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Southwest Gas’ conference call:

• Reported a solid start to 2026 with $1.91 EPS in Q1 and management affirmed 2026 Adjusted EPS guidance of $4.17–$4.32 and long?term growth of 12%–14%.
• California general rate case remains pending but a draft decision approves the settlement (cost of capital deferred); a memorandum account preserves full?year benefit back to Jan 1 and management does not expect a FY?2026 earnings impact.
• Filed general rate cases requesting ~$172 million combined (Arizona $101M, Nevada $71M) and is pursuing a formula rate mechanism and capital trackers to reduce regulatory lag and improve earnings visibility.
• Great Basin 2028 expansion open season was massively oversubscribed (0.3 Bcf offered vs. 2.5 Bcf bids); project design currently targets ~1.0 Bcf at ~$1.7B with ongoing efforts to convert bids to binding precedent agreements, representing meaningful upside optionality.
• Balance sheet and liquidity remain strong (net debt ~$3.2B), management expects no equity issuance in 2026, and plans ~$1.25B of 2026 capex and <$strong>$6.3B over five years to support ~9.5%–11.5% rate base CAGR.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE SWX traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $91.23. The stock had a trading volume of 214,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 607,692. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $66.93 and a 12 month high of $94.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.18. The company has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.38.

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Southwest Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $96.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 18th. UBS Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.67.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,280,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $250,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Gas

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.