Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Shares Purchased by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,620,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 70,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 2.25% of Southwest Gas worth $120,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SWX. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 223.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 194.6% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $80.02 on Friday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1 year low of $64.69 and a 1 year high of $83.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.78% and a net margin of 11.59%.The company had revenue of $316.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total value of $116,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,032,604 shares in the company, valued at $470,000,177.64. This trade represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.