Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Southwest Gas stock opened at $68.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $72.59 and its 200 day moving average is $73.65. Southwest Gas has a one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $80.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.74%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SWX. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,836,000 after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,000,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.