Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Makes New $3.80 Million Investment in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Arrowstreet Capital initiated a $3.8 million position in Southwest Gas, purchasing 43,717 shares for an approximately 0.06% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 92.77% of the company.
• Southwest Gas exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.91 EPS versus the $1.88 consensus, though revenue fell 21.6% year over year to $585.12 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, equal to an annualized $2.58 dividend and a 2.9% yield. Analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus with an average price target of $97.29.

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 43,717 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,799,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.06% of Southwest Gas as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 74.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 209,934 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,073,000 after buying an additional 89,761 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 190,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,703,000 after acquiring an additional 24,688 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $213,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 2.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 393,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,241,000 after acquiring an additional 10,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 223.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $89.80 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $89.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12 month low of $75.75 and a 12 month high of $94.46. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.03. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 19.95%.The firm had revenue of $585.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $695.52 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.27 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 $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 37.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SWX. UBS Group set a $100.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Gas from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Southwest Gas from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $97.29.

About Southwest Gas

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SWX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.