Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Rated “Sector Outperform” in New Coverage at Scotiabank

Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) in a research report report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a sector outperform rating and a $95.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock.

SWX has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.83.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $81.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.00. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $76.74 and a 12 month high of $94.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.6450 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Julie Williams sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $204,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 26,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,163,874.50. The trade was a 8.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of SWX. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $206,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 23.6% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $682,000 after buying an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 80.8% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,879 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 2,628 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth about $172,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 19.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Southwest Gas

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.