Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.04 EPS

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by ($0.04), FiscalAI reports. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 6.78%. The company had revenue of $480.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.01 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Gas updated its FY 2026 guidance to 4.170-4.320 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Southwest Gas’ conference call:

• CEO succession — Karen Haller will retire after nearly 30 years and Justin Brown will become CEO effective May 8, with Haller staying on as an advisor through year‑end to support the transition.
• The completed Centuri sale funded full holding‑company debt repayment, left nearly $600 million of cash (and ~$1.3 billion total liquidity), and prompted S&P upgrades to BBB+ — improving the balance sheet to fund dividends and redeploy capital into the utility.
• Financial outlook — the company is initiating 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.17–$4.32 and targets a 12%–14% adjusted EPS CAGR through 2030 (with 15%–17% front‑loaded growth into 2028–29), assuming regulatory improvements and the Great Basin contribution.
• Great Basin expansion (target in‑service late 2028) has binding precedent agreements for ~800 MMcf/d, an estimated ~$1.7 billion capex opportunity, and projected incremental annual margin of $215M–$245M, though timing, costs and approvals remain subject to FERC, permitting and execution risk.
• Regulatory progress — Arizona and Nevada rate cases (Arizona filing this week; Nevada next month) include proposals for formula/alternative ratemaking and a >$100M Arizona revenue request (10.25% ROE request), which management expects will reduce regulatory lag (target ~100 bps) and improve capital recovery.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE:SWX traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $88.50. 874,305 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 741,928. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.65. 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 has a 12-month low of $64.69 and a 12-month high of $88.78.

Key Headlines Impacting Southwest Gas

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Gas this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management raised FY‑2026 EPS guidance to a range of 4.17–4.32, well above street consensus (~3.95), signaling stronger forward earnings expectations that likely underpinned buying interest. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Positive Sentiment: The board approved a 4% increase to the regular quarterly dividend (to $0.645 per share beginning Q2 2026) and S&P upgraded SWX credit ratings to BBB+, supporting income investor appeal and balance‑sheet credibility. PR Newswire: Results
• Positive Sentiment: Board announced CEO succession: Justin Brown (current President) will become CEO effective May 8, 2026, providing an orderly leadership transition that reduces governance uncertainty. Reuters: CEO Succession
• Positive Sentiment: Management and coverage highlight an aggressive long‑term growth target (~14% annual through 2030), which frames the earnings miss as near‑term noise versus a multi‑year growth story. 247WallSt: Growth Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials (transcript, slide deck, presentation) and company commentary are available for investors to parse drivers of the quarter and the guidance assumptions. Seeking Alpha: Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed consensus: EPS $1.36 vs. $1.40 expected and revenue $480.7M vs. ~$587M expected; revenue fell ~13% YoY — the top‑line shortfall and margin pressure are the immediate negative drivers of investor concern. Zacks: Q4 Miss
• Negative Sentiment: Management projects elevated capital spending (~$1.25B for 2026), which could pressure free cash flow and require continued balance‑sheet management despite the recent credit upgrade. Zacks: Capex Outlook

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SWX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter worth $298,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth $245,000. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $213,000. 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.