Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (SWX) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.62 on March 3rd

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 20th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th.

Southwest Gas has increased its dividend by an average of 1.7% annually over the last three years. Southwest Gas has a payout ratio of 60.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Southwest Gas to earn $3.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 67.2%.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of SWX stock opened at $77.53 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.59 and a 200-day moving average of $73.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $58.77 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.80.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.