Invesco Ltd. Buys 16,483 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 4.5% in the first quarter, acquiring 16,483 shares to own a total of 382,958 shares valued at approximately $27.5 million.
• Several institutional investors, including the Maryland State Retirement & Pension System and Atria Wealth Solutions Inc., have also recently increased their positions in Southwest Gas, indicating growing institutional confidence in the company.
• Southwest Gas reported $0.53 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, though its revenue decreased by 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 382,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 16,483 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.53% of Southwest Gas worth $27,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.8% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 51,109 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,670,000 after buying an additional 1,398 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 9.0% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 70,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,062,000 after purchasing an additional 5,810 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 99.5% in the first quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,219 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 6.0% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SWX. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $1.4660 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $76.7540. The company had a trading volume of 186,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,203. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1-year low of $64.69 and a 1-year high of $80.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $76.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.30. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.49.

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

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.