Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $88.40.

SWX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.7%

SWX traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $87.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 49,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 669,013. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.63. Southwest Gas has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $85.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.40 by ($0.04). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.62% and a net margin of 14.77%.The company had revenue of $480.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.01 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 74.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,073,000 after buying an additional 89,761 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 190,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,703,000 after acquiring an additional 24,688 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 37.8% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 5,132 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 22.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 28.5% during the second quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 3,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.