Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) to Issue $0.62 Quarterly Dividend

by · The Markets Daily

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 20th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%.

Southwest Gas has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 17 years. Southwest Gas has a dividend payout ratio of 68.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Southwest Gas to earn $3.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 65.6%.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX stock traded down $2.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 544,594 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,863. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.64. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $57.55 and a 1 year high of $79.20.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $56,098.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SWX

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.

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