Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Now Covered by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Research analysts at Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage set a “peer perform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.12% from the company’s previous close.

SWX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $106.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday. Mizuho set a $103.00 target price on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.12.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:SWX opened at $83.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.88. Southwest Gas has a one year low of $76.74 and a one year high of $94.46. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.12.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $358.15 million for 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%. Southwest Gas’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.18) earnings per share. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, SVP Julie Williams sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 26,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,163,874.50. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 395,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,355,000 after purchasing an additional 139,872 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 204.5% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,309,000 after buying an additional 25,569 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at $3,513,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the first quarter worth about $3,799,000. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $986,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc (NYSE: SWX) is an energy company whose principal business is the regulated distribution of natural gas through its Southwest Gas Corporation subsidiary. The utility delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers, providing an essential energy service for heating, cooking and business operations.

Southwest Gas serves customers across portions of Arizona, Nevada and California through an extensive network of pipelines and related infrastructure.