Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 2,340,261 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 226% from the previous session’s volume of 716,933 shares.The stock last traded at $85.5250 and had previously closed at $83.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on SWX shares. Mizuho set a $96.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $82.00 to $99.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.40.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 146.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,773,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $138,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,963 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,338,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 176.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 501,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,307,000 after purchasing an additional 320,145 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 930,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,911,000 after buying an additional 226,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.