Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.80.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 37.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth 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. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $76.92 on Friday. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $60.88 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $72.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.51.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.