Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Position Boosted by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 789.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,133 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 10,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $717,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.5%

SWX traded down $0.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $78.38. The company had a trading volume of 307,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 481,776. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $73.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is currently 79.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SWX shares. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.25.

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.