Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $85.20 and traded as high as $89.99. Southwest Gas shares last traded at $89.8170, with a volume of 368,591 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $89.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 6.95%. Southwest Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Southwest Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.39%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 89,761 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 14.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 190,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,703,000 after purchasing an additional 24,688 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 70.3% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 36,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after acquiring an additional 15,127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 393,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,241,000 after acquiring an additional 10,122 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.