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

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) was upgraded by equities research analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on SWX. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE SWX opened at $75.29 on Monday. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.29 and a 200-day moving average of $73.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Southwest Gas by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 27,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

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.