Ethic Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,333 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,312 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Quarry LP increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 194.6% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE:SWX opened at $80.05 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.66. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.65. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $64.69 and a one year high of $83.23.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $316.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 6.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SWX shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE: SWX) is a publicly traded natural gas utility that provides regulated gas distribution services to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. The company’s core activities include the transportation, distribution and sale of natural gas through an extensive network of pipelines, service lines and metering facilities. Southwest Gas also offers related services such as system maintenance, pipeline safety inspections, emergency response and line extensions to support customer growth and ensure reliable gas delivery.

Founded in 1931 in southern Nevada, Southwest Gas has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the nation’s larger natural gas utilities by customer count.