Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Raises Stock Position in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 75.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,445 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,520,000 after buying an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $234,905,000 after buying an additional 105,549 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,850,000 after buying an additional 27,407 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 884.4% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,390,000 after acquiring an additional 818,115 shares during the period. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 111.8% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 900,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,639,000 after acquiring an additional 475,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of SWX traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $78.43. 224,750 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 435,948. The company's fifty day moving average price is $73.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.66% and a return on equity of 6.76%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.25.

Southwest Gas 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.