Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Shares Sold by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lessened its position in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 136,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,592 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Southwest Gas worth $9,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 884.4% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,390,000 after acquiring an additional 818,115 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 72.2% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,550,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $111,290,000 after acquiring an additional 650,000 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the first quarter worth about $31,686,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the first quarter worth about $11,781,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 208.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 227,415 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $16,299,000 after buying an additional 153,637 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.7%

SWX stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $78.56. 369,479 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,490. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.45. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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 boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. One research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

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.