Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $79.38 and last traded at $79.26, with a volume of 62664 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $77.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SWX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.66.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 154.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 96.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.