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

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 19th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.62 per share by the utilities provider on Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th.

Southwest Gas has raised its dividend payment by an average of 1.7% annually over the last three years. Southwest Gas has a payout ratio of 60.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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 Stock Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $77.00 on Friday. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $60.88 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $72.81 and a 200-day moving average of $73.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.80.

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.