Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $93.14 Million Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group slightly reduced its Southwest Gas stake by 1.1% in Q1, but still held 1,071,793 shares worth about $93.1 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several other institutional investors also added to or initiated positions in Southwest Gas, and hedge funds and institutions now own 92.77% of the company’s shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains upbeat: multiple firms raised price targets, and the stock currently carries an average Buy rating with a consensus price target of $97.29.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,071,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,873 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.48% of Southwest Gas worth $93,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,930,000. BROOKFIELD Corp ON acquired a new position in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,052,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,648,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,913,000 after purchasing an additional 228,496 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $16,200,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 50.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 604,268 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,353,000 after buying an additional 201,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SWX. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $100.00 price objective on Southwest Gas in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $97.29.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:SWX opened at $91.18 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $88.98 and its 200-day moving average is $87.34. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.45. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52-week low of $75.75 and a 52-week high of $94.43.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.03. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 6.95%. The business had revenue of $585.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $695.52 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current year.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Corporation NYSE: SWX is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company's core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation's larger natural gas utilities by customer count.

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