Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Upgraded 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 report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SWX has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of SWX opened at $75.29 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 30.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.88.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

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.