Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock Price Down 2.5%

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating)’s share price dropped 2.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $64.53 and last traded at $64.53. Approximately 7,010 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 425,723 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.21.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America downgraded Southwest Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $66.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TheStreet cut Southwest Gas from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.33.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.36. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 9th. The utilities provider reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.33). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.51% and a net margin of 3.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.28 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 14th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 101.22%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Icahn Carl C boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Icahn Carl C now owns 5,103,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,380,000 after acquiring an additional 2,204,445 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,646,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $520,388,000 after buying an additional 690,696 shares during the period. TIG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,214,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 441.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 491,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,810,000 after buying an additional 400,804 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 222.5% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 394,594 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,361,000 after acquiring an additional 272,223 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.59% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Gas

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Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc engages in the energy business. It operates through the following business segments: Natural Gas Operations and Utility Infrastructure Services. The Natural Gas Operations segment focuses on purchasing, distribution, and transportation of natural gas in Arizona, California, and Nevada.