11,181,201 Shares in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Acquired by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 11.18 million Southwest Gas shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $991.5 million, giving it a 15.45% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 92.77% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with seven Buy ratings and one Hold rating, an overall “Moderate Buy” consensus, and an average price target of $98.29.
• Southwest Gas reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, in line with estimates, but revenue fell 9.6% year over year to $358.15 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, representing a 2.9% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,181,201 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $991,549,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 15.45% of Southwest Gas as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth $8,379,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter valued at about $169,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,324,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $573,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group set a $100.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho set a $103.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.29.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $88.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.68 and a 200 day moving average of $89.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.57. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $76.17 and a fifty-two week high of $94.46.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.91% and a net margin of 31.85%.The company had revenue of $358.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.18) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.645 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 33.68%.

Southwest Gas Company 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.

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