Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 24,472 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management sharply reduced its Southwest Gas stake by 79.5% in the first quarter, selling 24,472 shares and leaving it with 6,303 shares valued at about $548,000.
• Despite mixed institutional activity, analysts remain generally bullish on Southwest Gas, with a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $97.29 after several firms raised or initiated coverage.
• The utility reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.91 per share in its latest quarter, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, equal to a 2.8% annual yield.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 79.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,303 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,472 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SWX. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 223.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 301.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 834 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. UBS Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $97.29.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of SWX opened at $91.65 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $89.12 and its 200 day moving average is $87.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.58. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12-month low of $75.75 and a 12-month high of $94.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.03. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 19.95%.The business had revenue of $585.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.52 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.39%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Corporation NYSE: SWX is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company's core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation's larger natural gas utilities by customer count.

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