Magnetar Financial LLC Invests $835,000 in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC has taken a new position in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX), acquiring 11,628 shares valued at approximately $835,000.
• Analysts showed positive sentiment towards Southwest Gas, with several upgrades: Jefferies upgraded the stock to a "buy" rating with a target price of $82.00, while Bank of America raised its target to $84.00.
• Despite reporting earnings per share of $0.53 for the latest quarter, which beat estimates, the company experienced a 5.2% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 11,628 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $835,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised 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 valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 78.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of SWX stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $79.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 373,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 425,891. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.30 and a 200-day moving average of $74.38. The stock has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55. 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.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Southwest Gas's revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.75.

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.