Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Short Interest Up 44.1% in August

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 recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,060,000 shares, anincreaseof44.1% 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 presently 4.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 439,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 20.9% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 880 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 21.3% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted 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 during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $78.53 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.30, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.38. Southwest Gas has a 1 year low of $64.69 and a 1 year high of $80.54.

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

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.

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