UBS Group AG Trims Stock Position in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• UBS Group AG reduced its stake in Southwest Gas by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 41,056 shares and leaving it with 189,338 shares worth about $15.2 million.
• Southwest Gas beat earnings expectations for the quarter, reporting $1.91 per share versus the $1.88 consensus, though revenue came in below estimates and fell 21.6% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.645 per share, and analysts remain generally positive with a consensus Buy rating and average price target of $97.

UBS Group AG cut its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 189,338 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 41,056 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.26% of Southwest Gas worth $15,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 30.6% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 224,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,599,000 after acquiring an additional 52,573 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 547.9% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 23,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,827,000 after acquiring an additional 19,720 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 146.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,773,068 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054,963 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 32.1% during the third quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 930,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,911,000 after acquiring an additional 226,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 176.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 501,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,307,000 after acquiring an additional 320,145 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of SWX stock opened at $88.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.73. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $66.93 and a fifty-two week high of $94.43.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $585.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $695.52 million. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 6.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Southwest Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $100.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.00.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Corporation NYSE: SWX is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company's core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation's larger natural gas utilities by customer count.

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