Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 7,511 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC reduced its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 4.9%, now holding 145,414 shares valued at $10.8 million.
• Southwest Gas reported earnings of $0.53 per share in its latest quarter, exceeding expectations but experienced a 5.2% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, representing a 3.1% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 92.54%.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,414 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,511 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.20% of Southwest Gas worth $10,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.9% during the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,826,557 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $131,147,000 after purchasing an additional 16,894 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 72.2% during the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,550,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $111,290,000 after acquiring an additional 650,000 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,021,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $73,376,000 after purchasing an additional 111,341 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth $31,686,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 382,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,496,000 after purchasing an additional 16,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:SWX traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,148,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,365. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1 year low of $64.69 and a 1 year high of $80.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is presently 92.54%.

Southwest Gas Company 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.