Picton Mahoney Asset Management Acquires Shares of 14,930 Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)

Key Points

• Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired 14,930 shares of Southwest Gas Corporation valued at approximately $1,072,000, marking a significant addition to their portfolio.
• Other institutional investors have also recently increased their stakes in Southwest Gas, with UMB Bank n.a. boosting their stake by 41.2% in the first quarter.
• Southwest Gas reported a 1.65 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue fell 18% compared to the prior year.

Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 worth $44,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth $952,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Southwest Gas by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 78.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on SWX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.25.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of SWX stock traded up $1.83 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.68. 302,678 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,954. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.49. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $74.74 and its 200-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. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 4.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current 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.