Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 476.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,688 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,620 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $81.72 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.45. 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 stock has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.57. Southwest Gas Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $82.51.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $316.91 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 6,032,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This trade represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. Mizuho began coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.50.

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.