BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Invests $3.98 Million in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 44,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,976,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $991,549,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $74,324,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,930,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth approximately $39,572,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON grew its position in Southwest Gas by 106.9% during the first quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 699,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,797,000 after purchasing an additional 361,556 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho set a $103.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Southwest Gas from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.67.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $88.94 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.57. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12-month low of $76.59 and a 12-month high of $94.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $90.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.33.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $358.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.20 million. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 31.85% and a return on equity of 6.79%. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.68%.

Southwest Gas Profile

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.