Acadian Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 105.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,700 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX opened at $78.42 on Wednesday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.69 and a 12-month high of $80.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.52. The company has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America upgraded 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 report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.25.

Southwest Gas 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.