Bank of America Corp DE Takes Position in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 446,234 Southwest Gas shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $39.6 million and representing about 0.62% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.77% of SWX.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with five Buy ratings and one Hold rating. Southwest Gas has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $103.20, above its reported $84.47 share price.
• 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 paid a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, equivalent to a 3.1% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 446,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $39,572,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.62% of Southwest Gas as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 301.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 834 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 107.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,099 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $163,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $169,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SWX. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Mizuho set a $103.00 price target on Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.20.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.6%

SWX stock opened at $84.47 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.57. Southwest Gas Corporation has a twelve month low of $76.74 and a twelve month high of $94.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $90.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 31.85% and a return on equity of 6.79%. The firm had revenue of $358.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $416.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The company'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. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 33.68%.

Southwest Gas Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc is a regulated energy company that provides natural gas distribution services through its subsidiary, Southwest Gas Corporation. The utility delivers natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers, primarily in Arizona, Nevada and portions of California, serving communities across the desert Southwest.

The company's utility operations include the acquisition, transportation and distribution of natural gas through a network of pipelines and related infrastructure.

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