Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 748,443 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 157,764 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.04% of Southwest Gas worth $53,738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 78.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SWX stock traded up $0.30 on Wednesday, hitting $76.98. The stock had a trading volume of 419,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,916. The stock's 50 day moving average is $72.89 and its 200-day moving average is $73.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 79.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SWX. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.25.

About Southwest Gas

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.