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

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $97.00.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company 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, Mizuho set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $87.57 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.80. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $67.65 and a 1 year high of $94.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.62. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $585.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $695.52 million. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 6.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost from Southwest Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 301.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. 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.