Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.18 EPS

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18, Zacks reports. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $74.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.65. Southwest Gas has a twelve month low of $62.48 and a twelve month high of $80.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the subject of several recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.80.

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.