Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $8,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Simplex Trading LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 144.0% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 194.6% in the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.8%

Southwest Gas stock opened at $83.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.11. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $83.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $316.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on SWX shares. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $116,865,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,032,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.