Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,056,297 shares, a drop of 17.5% from the January 15th total of 1,279,735 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 585,147 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 585,147 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Mizuho set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.40.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE SWX traded up $0.88 during trading on Monday, reaching $87.99. 754,983 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 875,001. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.37. Southwest Gas has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $88.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 905.3% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 344 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 223.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.