Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $83.23 and last traded at $81.7550, with a volume of 367952 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.63. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $80.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $316.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 11.59%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total value of $116,865,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,032,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This trade represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $228,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter valued at $5,668,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $212,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter worth about $541,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $406,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.