Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Rating Raised to “Hold” 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 issued on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on SWX. Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.20.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of SWX stock opened at $82.55 on Friday. Southwest Gas has a fifty-two week low of $76.74 and a fifty-two week high of $94.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.6450 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 54.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 395,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,355,000 after buying an additional 139,872 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 204.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,309,000 after acquiring an additional 25,569 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,799,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 1st quarter worth approximately $986,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 30.4% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 76,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 17,811 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southwest Gas

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.