Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 17,177 Shares of Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN)

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its position in shares of Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) by 28.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,282 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 17,177 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southwestern Energy were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWN. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 32.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 39,784,990 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $256,613,000 after buying an additional 9,709,483 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Southwestern Energy by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,735,475 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $146,644,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744,656 shares during the period. Kimmeridge Energy Management Company LLC acquired a new stake in Southwestern Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $120,352,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,241,070 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $66,055,000 after acquiring an additional 295,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwestern Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,933,112 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $51,169,000 after purchasing an additional 370,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.97% of the company’s stock.

Southwestern Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Southwestern Energy stock opened at $7.26 on Thursday. Southwestern Energy has a 52 week low of $4.67 and a 52 week high of $7.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $7.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.88. The company has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a PE ratio of -4.17 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $0.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). Southwestern Energy had a negative net margin of 32.93% and a positive return on equity of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 33.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwestern Energy will post 0.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SWN. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southwestern Energy from $6.00 to $6.25 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Southwestern Energy from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $6.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $7.00 target price (down from $8.00) on shares of Southwestern Energy in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Southwestern Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $9.00 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Southwestern Energy from $7.00 to $7.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $8.14.

Southwestern Energy Company Profile

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.