Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Receives $73.80 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $73.80.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SWX. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $77.26 on Friday. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $61.13 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.59. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 37.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake 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 shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.