Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,163,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.8%

SWX opened at $79.06 on Thursday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.69 and a 12 month high of $80.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 92.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.