Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $98.00.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SWX shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $90.62 on Thursday. Southwest Gas has a 12-month low of $75.75 and a 12-month high of $94.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 19.95%.The company had revenue of $358.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,930,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 106.9% in the 1st quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 699,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,797,000 after buying an additional 361,556 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 281.2% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 459,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,887,000 after buying an additional 338,600 shares in the last quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $27,052,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,648,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,913,000 after buying an additional 228,496 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Southwest Gas

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Gas this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance reaffirmed: Southwest Gas maintained its 2026 continuing-operations EPS outlook of $4.17 to $4.32, broadly in line with the $4.22 consensus estimate. Southwest Gas second-quarter financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Great Basin expansion gains momentum: Binding commitments for the 2028 expansion reached approximately 1 billion cubic feet per day. Southwest Gas raised expected project capital investment to about $2.3 billion and estimated potential annual incremental margin of $270 million to $300 million once operational.
• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory developments improved the outlook: A California regulatory decision is expected to provide approximately $40 million in incremental annual revenue, while the final decision in a broader California rate case is anticipated in August. The company also reported an 8.1% trailing-12-month utility return on equity.
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly profitability improved year over year: Net income attributable to Southwest Gas was $42.1 million, versus a $40.2 million loss in the prior-year quarter. Reported EPS was $0.45, meeting some consensus estimates, though other estimates placed expectations at $0.47.
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and earnings comparisons were weak: Quarterly operating revenue fell 9.6% year over year to $358.2 million. Zacks characterized EPS as a miss against its $0.47 estimate, and reported EPS declined from $0.53 a year earlier under that comparison, despite lower costs helping operating income.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.