Picton Mahoney Asset Management Makes New Investment in 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 purchased a new position in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 14,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,072,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 884.4% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,390,000 after buying an additional 818,115 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,011,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 111.8% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 900,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,639,000 after buying an additional 475,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,748,000 after buying an additional 229,739 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 328.1% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 223,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,821,000 after buying an additional 171,478 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.4%

SWX traded down $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.81. 423,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 398,045. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.79. The firm has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.49. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Southwest Gas's revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Southwest Gas 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.