Jane Street Group LLC Has $11.10 Million Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Jane Street Group LLC significantly increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 217.3%, owning 154,568 shares worth approximately $11.1 million as of the latest quarter.
• Analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for Southwest Gas, with price targets ranging from $75.00 to $88.00, and currently an average rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Southwest Gas reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, but experienced a 5.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.

Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 217.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 154,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 105,852 shares during the quarter. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Southwest Gas worth $11,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.54 on Friday, reaching $78.46. 1,148,070 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 355,365. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.33 and a 200-day moving average of $74.60. Southwest Gas Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $80.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.