Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.62

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th.

Southwest Gas has increased its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% annually over the last three years. Southwest Gas has a payout ratio of 65.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Southwest Gas to earn $4.11 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 60.3%.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.13. 241,196 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,292. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.76. The company has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $53.79 and a 1 year high of $76.75.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.16. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.28%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

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.