Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 1,727 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,727 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 2,541 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,748,000 after purchasing an additional 229,739 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,516,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,128,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $234,905,000 after purchasing an additional 105,549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of SWX opened at $79.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.93. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.49. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 4.66%. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SWX. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

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.