Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Receives $73.40 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $73.80.

A number of analysts recently commented on SWX shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the 4th 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. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the third quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $74.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.43. Southwest Gas has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $80.29. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.87 and a 200 day moving average of $73.18.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

About Southwest Gas

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.