Verbena Value LP Increases Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Verbena Value LP increased its Southwest Gas stake by 38.1% in the first quarter, adding 45,875 shares to reach 166,246 shares valued at about $14.45 million.
• Southwest Gas continues to draw strong institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 92.77% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with a Buy consensus and an average price target of $97.29; Southwest Gas also recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.645 per share.

Verbena Value LP raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 38.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,246 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 45,875 shares during the quarter. Southwest Gas accounts for approximately 2.4% of Verbena Value LP's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Verbena Value LP owned about 0.23% of Southwest Gas worth $14,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Comerica Bank grew its position in Southwest Gas by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 84,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,774,000 after buying an additional 13,623 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,361,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth $1,086,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $5,668,000. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Gas from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on Southwest Gas from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group set a $100.00 price objective on Southwest Gas in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $97.29.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $91.22 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.04 and a 200 day moving average of $87.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12 month low of $75.75 and a 12 month high of $94.43.

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

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Southwest Gas's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is 37.39%.

About Southwest Gas

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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