Yahoo Finance Southwest Gas (SWX) Up 2.8% on Q3 Sales Beat, Earnings Miss
Southwest Gas Holdings Inc. SWX recorded third-quarter 2022 operating loss per share of 5 cents, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of earnings per share of 28 cents by 117.9%. The bottom line also decreased 200% from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 5 cents per share.
GAAP loss in the reported quarter were 18 cents narrower than the year ago quarter’s loss of 19 cents.
Total Revenues
Operating revenues of $1,125.6 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,088 million by 3.5%. The top line improved by 26.7% from $888.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Revenues also surpassed our estimate of $1,085.5 million by 0.4%.
Courtesy of the better-than-expected top-line performance of Southwest Gas Holdings, the market reacted positively and the company’s shares gained 2.8% post third-quarter earnings release.
Southwest Gas Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Southwest Gas Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Southwest Gas Corporation Quote
Highlights of the Release
Total operating expenses in the third quarter amounted to $307.1 million, up 15.9% from the year-ago figure of $264.9 million, due to an increase in the net cost of gas sold, and higher operations and maintenance expenses.
The operating loss was $3.2 million, narrower than the prior-quarter’s loss of $9.1 million.
Financial Highlights
Cash and cash equivalents as of Sep 30, 2022 were $175.3 million compared with $222.7 million as of Dec 31, 2021.
The long-term debt, less current maturities, amounted to $5,865.5 million as of Sep 30, 2022 compared with $4,115.7 million as of Dec 31, 2021.
Southwest Gas’ net cash provided by operating activities for the first nine months of 2022 was $303.5 million compared to $51.5 million in the year-ago period.
Guidance
Natural Gas Distribution segment raised its 2022 capital expenditures in support of customer growth, system improvements and pipe replacement programs to $650-$675 million from its previous range of $600-$650 million. To strengthen operations, this segment aims to invest $2.5-$3.5 billion in next five years.
Utility Infrastructure Services segment expects total revenues in the range of $2.6-$2.7 billion in 2022 and $2.8-$3 billion in 2023.
Zacks Rank
Southwest Gas carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) currently.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Recent Releases
Sempra Energy’s SRE third-quarter 2022 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $1.97, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.79 by 10.1%.
The long-term (three- to five-year) earnings growth of SRE is currently pegged at 5.71%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SRE’s 2022 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 3.9%.
DTE Energy Company DTE reported third-quarter 2022 operating EPS of $1.60, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.58 by 1.3%.
The long-term earnings growth of DTE is currently pegged at 6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DTE’s 2022 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 0.5%.
ONE Gas Inc. OGS reported third-quarter 2022 operating earnings per share of 44 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents by 7.3%.
The long-term earnings growth of OGS is currently pegged at 5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OGS’ 2022 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 5.7%.
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