AlphaQuest LLC Grows Position in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 2,795.6%, owning 27,392 shares worth approximately $1.97 million.
• Several analysts have upgraded Southwest Gas with target price increases, including a raise from Jefferies Financial Group to $82.00 and from Bank of America to $74.00.
• Southwest Gas reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations despite a 5.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 2,795.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 27,392 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,446 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,946,000. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $717,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 84,167 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,944,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,850,000 after acquiring an additional 27,407 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX opened at $76.5210 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.49. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.69 and a 12-month high of $80.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas 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.

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