Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation by 4.2%, now owning approximately 0.25% of the company valued at $12.7 million.
• Several other investors significantly increased their stakes in Southwest Gas, with Farther Finance Advisors raising its holdings by 1,055% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Southwest Gas, with an average price target of $77.25, indicating growing confidence in the company.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 176,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,710 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.25% of Southwest Gas worth $12,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 383 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 traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $77.82. The stock had a trading volume of 308,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,051. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.69 and a 12 month high of $80.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.35.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWX has been the topic of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.25.

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.