Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 10,893 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,893 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.43% of Southwest Gas worth $22,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 884.4% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,390,000 after buying an additional 818,115 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the first quarter worth about $31,686,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the first quarter worth about $11,781,000. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 217.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,098,000 after buying an additional 105,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 147,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,445,000 after buying an additional 64,412 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, hitting $78.56. 369,479 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 353,490. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1 year low of $64.69 and a 1 year high of $80.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. 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 raised their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

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.