Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $97.2857.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $835,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,375,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 21.3% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock traded down $0.27 on Friday, reaching $89.54. The company had a trading volume of 577,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 668,917. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $72.43 and a 1 year high of $94.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company’s fifty day moving average is $89.08 and its 200 day moving average is $86.75. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.58.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $585.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.52 million. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 19.95%.The business’s revenue was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This is an increase from Southwest Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 37.39%.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.