Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 338,600 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its Southwest Gas stake by 281.2% in the first quarter, acquiring 338,600 shares for a total holding of 459,000 shares worth approximately $39.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.77% of SWX.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: JPMorgan, Mizuho and Wells Fargo issued upgrades or “overweight” ratings, contributing to a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $97.29.
• Southwest Gas reported quarterly EPS of $1.91, slightly above estimates, despite a 21.6% year-over-year revenue decline. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, representing a 2.8% annualized yield.

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 281.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 459,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 338,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.63% of Southwest Gas worth $39,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 84,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,774,000 after purchasing an additional 13,623 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,086,000. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter worth about $1,361,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the first quarter worth about $986,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 177.3% in the fourth quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 11,103 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $888,000 after buying an additional 7,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on Southwest Gas from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Gas from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $97.29.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $92.07 on Tuesday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $75.75 and a fifty-two week high of $94.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.02. The company has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.03. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.95% and a net margin of 19.95%.The firm had revenue of $585.12 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $695.52 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.39%.

Southwest Gas 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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