Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $7.86.

Several brokerages have recently commented on SWN. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southwestern Energy from $6.00 to $6.25 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Southwestern Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Mizuho raised shares of Southwestern Energy from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $6.00 to $9.00 in a report on Monday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "hold" rating and set a $6.60 price target (down previously from $8.50) on shares of Southwestern Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southwestern Energy from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $7.00 to $8.50 in a research report on Wednesday, December 6th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SWN. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwestern Energy in the first quarter worth about $660,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Southwestern Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southwestern Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $446,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Southwestern Energy by 213.1% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 1,238,542 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $8,112,000 after buying an additional 843,000 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Southwestern Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 471,210 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $3,086,000 after acquiring an additional 24,355 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company's stock.

Southwestern Energy Price Performance

NYSE SWN traded down $0.06 on Tuesday, hitting $7.55. The stock had a trading volume of 11,583,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,289,031. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $6.86 and a 200-day moving average of $6.71. The company has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Southwestern Energy has a 52-week low of $4.57 and a 52-week high of $7.69.

Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The energy company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.04. Southwestern Energy had a return on equity of 11.74% and a net margin of 23.87%. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 49.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Southwestern Energy will post 0.71 EPS for the current year.

About Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production, and Marketing. The company focuses on the development of unconventional natural gas and oil reservoirs located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana.