Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $75.29 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. On average, analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,520,000 after acquiring an additional 38,710 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $234,905,000 after purchasing an additional 105,549 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,256,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,450,000 after purchasing an additional 22,013 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,027,000 after purchasing an additional 19,922 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.