Intech Investment Management LLC Has $2.92 Million Stake in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation by 18.0%, owning 40,670 shares valued at approximately $2.92 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Southwest Gas ratings, with Bank of America raising its price target from $76.00 to $84.00 and Jefferies Financial Group increasing it from $82.00 to $88.00.
• Southwest Gas reported earnings of $0.53 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, despite a 5.2% year-over-year revenue decline.

Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 18.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,210 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Southwest Gas worth $2,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Zimmer Partners LP increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 884.4% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,390,000 after buying an additional 818,115 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 72.2% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,550,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,290,000 after buying an additional 650,000 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Gas during the first quarter worth $31,686,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the first quarter valued at $11,781,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 208.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 227,415 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,299,000 after purchasing an additional 153,637 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SWX. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $78.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,148,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,365. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average is $78.33 and its 200-day moving average is $74.60. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $80.54. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is 92.54%.

About Southwest Gas

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.