Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Makes New $3.32 Million Investment in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased 37,471 Southwest Gas shares worth approximately $3.32 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.77% of the company.
• Southwest Gas reported quarterly EPS of $0.45, matching estimates, but revenue fell 9.6% year over year to $358.15 million, below the $416.20 million consensus forecast.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, equivalent to a 2.9% annual yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $100.67, versus a recent share price of $88.03.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 37,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,323,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.05% of Southwest Gas as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth $991,549,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at about $74,324,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,930,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter worth about $39,572,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 106.9% during the first quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 699,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,797,000 after purchasing an additional 361,556 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.7%

Southwest Gas stock opened at $88.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1-year low of $76.59 and a 1-year high of $94.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.40. The company has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 31.85% and a return on equity of 6.79%. The firm had revenue of $358.15 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $416.20 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $103.00 price objective on Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.67.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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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