United Services Automobile Association Makes New $276,000 Investment in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas Corporation, purchasing 3,781 shares valued at approximately $276,000 in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, such as Golden State Wealth Management and Atria Wealth Solutions, significantly increased their holdings in Southwest Gas during the same period, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Southwest Gas reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing expectations, but its revenue of $1.12 billion fell short of analyst estimates.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $276,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE SWX traded up $0.01 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $79.12. 93,312 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 421,763. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Southwest Gas Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $80.54. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $78.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. 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.