Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 48.2%, selling 4,329 shares, and now holds 4,650 shares valued at $334,000.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter, with Zimmer Partners LP raising its stake by 884.4% to 910,615 shares valued at approximately $64.4 million.
• Southwest Gas reported earnings of $1.65 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, but its revenue of $1.30 billion fell short of the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion.

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 48.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,329 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 78.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE SWX traded down $1.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.53. 288,477 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,937. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1-year low of $64.69 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.49.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 4.66%. The business's revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

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.