AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.37 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 208.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,766 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,993,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $148,309,000 after buying an additional 167,114 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 4.5% in the second quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,620,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $120,512,000 after buying an additional 70,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas by 3.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,544,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $114,902,000 after acquiring an additional 54,318 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 7.7% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,048,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $77,998,000 after acquiring an additional 75,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL grew its position in Southwest Gas by 3.6% in the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 860,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,000,000 after acquiring an additional 29,595 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $82.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $81.68 and its 200-day moving average is $79.87. The company has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.65. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.69 and a 52-week high of $86.75.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SWX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $82.00 to $99.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Mizuho started coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.40.

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.