Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Price Target Cut to $72.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 3.00% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SWX. 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 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.80.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of SWX stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 15,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 326,050. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $57.55 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.16. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.43. 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 (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Institutional investors 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.