Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX traded down $0.87 on Monday, hitting $75.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 825,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,666. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The firm has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37.

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Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. Analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. The company operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. It also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.