Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Shares Purchased by Zimmer Partners LP

Key Points

• Zimmer Partners LP has increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 12.2%, owning over 1 million shares valued at approximately $73.4 million, making it the fund's 23rd largest position.
• Multiple hedge funds have also significantly raised their positions in Southwest Gas, with Farther Finance Advisors LLC increasing its holdings by an extraordinary 1,055%.
• Southwest Gas's stock recently opened at $77.46, and while it beat earnings expectations by reporting $0.53 earnings per share, its revenue declined year-over-year by 5.2%.

Zimmer Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 12.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,021,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 111,341 shares during the quarter. Southwest Gas makes up approximately 1.4% of Zimmer Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Zimmer Partners LP owned approximately 1.42% of Southwest Gas worth $73,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 118.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.54 on Friday, reaching $78.56. 369,479 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 424,042. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1-year low of $64.69 and a 1-year high of $80.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $77.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.