Analysts Set Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Price Target at $87.40

Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $88.40.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SWX shares. Mizuho set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $85.92 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.15. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $64.69 and a 52 week high of $86.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.65.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 10,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 8,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 14,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,375,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.