Jane Street Group LLC Buys 105,852 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Jane Street Group LLC significantly increased its investment in Southwest Gas Corporation by purchasing 105,852 shares, raising its total holdings to 154,568 shares, valued at approximately $11.1 million.
• Analysts have revised their ratings on Southwest Gas, with Jefferies raising it to a "buy" and increasing the price target to $82, while the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• Southwest Gas reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, and predicts a total EPS of 3.03 for the current fiscal year.

Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 217.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 154,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 105,852 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned 0.22% of Southwest Gas worth $11,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 884.4% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,390,000 after purchasing an additional 818,115 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Southwest Gas by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 818,023 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,842,000 after acquiring an additional 97,709 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 471,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,351,000 after acquiring an additional 21,919 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the first quarter valued at $31,686,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 382,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,496,000 after acquiring an additional 16,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.75.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.5%

Southwest Gas stock traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $78.14. The stock had a trading volume of 120,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,035. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $80.54. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $77.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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

Southwest Gas Company 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.