SG Americas Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)

SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 13,261 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Zimmer Partners LP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 818,115 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth $51,011,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 900,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,639,000 after purchasing an additional 475,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,748,000 after purchasing an additional 229,739 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 328.1% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 223,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,821,000 after buying an additional 171,478 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.89. 1,152,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 372,137. The business's 50-day moving average price is $72.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.47. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 4.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.