Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Stock Position Decreased by Channing Capital Management LLC

Channing Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 18.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,035,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 234,456 shares during the quarter. Southwest Gas makes up 2.2% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Channing Capital Management LLC owned 1.44% of Southwest Gas worth $74,357,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 78.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.3%

SWX stock opened at $76.3650 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.69 and a 52-week high of $80.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.49.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.