Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX – Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $82.54 and last traded at $82.2050, with a volume of 12185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.50.

Read Our Latest Research Report on SWX

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.88. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The firm had revenue of $316.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.09 EPS. Southwest Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its position in Southwest Gas by 1.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 8,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 20.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.4% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,280,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Gas

(Get Free Report)

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.

Read More