Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $78.94 and last traded at $78.59, with a volume of 4357 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.17). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 98.41%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,055.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 25.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 8.2% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 27,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after buying an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 17.5% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 26.9% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 848 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,349,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.