Bayforest Capital Ltd Has $438,000 Stock Position in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 191.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $438,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $77.05 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.41. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.69 and a 52-week high of $80.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on SWX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.75.

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.