Brokerages Set Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Target Price at $74.00

Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $74.00.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:SWX opened at $75.74 on Monday. Southwest Gas has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $80.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $72.77 and a 200-day moving average of $73.71. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,520,000 after acquiring an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,905,000 after acquiring an additional 105,549 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,807,000 after acquiring an additional 4,235 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,850,000 after acquiring an additional 27,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,054,000 after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.