Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)

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% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,329 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Southwest Gas Stock Up 2.4%

NYSE SWX traded up $1.85 during trading on Monday, reaching $79.70. 570,774 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 419,220. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.49. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $74.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.84. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29.

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