Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $74.84 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,042,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,342 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.45% of Southwest Gas worth $74,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position 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 grew its position in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 78.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $74.54. 222,793 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 378,041. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $72.49 and its 200 day moving average is $72.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Corporation has a one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $80.29.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is currently 79.74%.

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.