Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Short Interest Update

Key Points

• Short interest in Southwest Gas Corporation surged by 44.1% in August, bringing the total to 2,060,000 shares as of August 15th.
• Analyst ratings have varied, with Bank of America increasing its price target for Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $84.00, and Jefferies Financial Group upgrading its rating from "hold" to "buy."
• The company reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.53, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.42, although revenue declined by 5.2% compared to the previous year.

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,060,000 shares, an increase of 44.1% from the July 31st total of 1,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 439,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 439,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,098 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,280,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 10,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE SWX traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $78.56. 369,479 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,490. Southwest Gas has a 52-week low of $64.69 and a 52-week high of $80.54. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.45. 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 (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, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. Southwest Gas's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.25.

About Southwest Gas

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.