Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Shares Bought by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 72.2%, now owning approximately 1,550,000 shares valued at around $111.29 million.
• Several other institutional investors, including Stifel Financial Corp and AQR Capital Management LLC, have also increased their holdings in Southwest Gas, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analyst ratings for Southwest Gas have shifted positively, with upgrades from Wall Street Zen to a "buy" rating and from Bank of America raising the price target to $84.00, amidst a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 72.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,550,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 650,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 2.16% of Southwest Gas worth $111,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% during 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 last quarter. Quarry LP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.75.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.53. The company had a trading volume of 313,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 330,462. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $77.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.42. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $80.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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.