Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX)

Equities research analysts at Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) in a report issued on Friday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “peer perform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.12% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on SWX. Weiss Ratings lowered Southwest Gas from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $106.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday. Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.12.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX opened at $83.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.88. Southwest Gas has a twelve month low of $76.74 and a twelve month high of $94.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $358.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.20 million. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.79% and a net margin of 31.85%.The business’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.18) earnings per share. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Gas will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Julie Williams sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $204,525.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 26,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,163,874.50. This trade represents a 8.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 54.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 395,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,355,000 after purchasing an additional 139,872 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 204.5% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 38,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,309,000 after purchasing an additional 25,569 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,513,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,799,000. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $986,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc (NYSE: SWX) is an energy company whose principal business is the regulated distribution of natural gas through its Southwest Gas Corporation subsidiary. The utility delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers, providing an essential energy service for heating, cooking and business operations.

Southwest Gas serves customers across portions of Arizona, Nevada and California through an extensive network of pipelines and related infrastructure.