Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 2,340,261 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 226% from the previous session’s volume of 716,933 shares.The stock last traded at $85.5250 and had previously closed at $83.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SWX shares. Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.40.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 2.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.63%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter valued at $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 905.3% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 223.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.