Strs Ohio Makes New $1.16 Million Investment in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has acquired a new position in Southwest Gas Corporation, purchasing 16,200 shares valued at approximately $1,163,000.
• Southwest Gas reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, surpassing estimates, but witnessed a 5.2% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 92.54%.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 16,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,163,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth about $1,880,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 105.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 22,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 11,700 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 40,670 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,920,000 after acquiring an additional 6,210 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 217.3% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,568 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,098,000 after acquiring an additional 105,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 191.1% during the 1st quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 6,104 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $438,000 after acquiring an additional 4,007 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.25.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,148,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,194. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.62. 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 twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $80.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. The business 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%. Southwest Gas's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.54%.

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.