Analysts Set Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Target Price at $73.40

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.80.

SWX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 599.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 234.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 37,418 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,349,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 267,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,737,000 after acquiring an additional 7,858 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,836,000 after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $75.44 on Tuesday. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $57.55 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.