Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 2,033 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,033 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,826,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,147,000 after buying an additional 16,894 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 72.2% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,550,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $111,290,000 after buying an additional 650,000 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,021,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,376,000 after buying an additional 111,341 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,686,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 382,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,496,000 after buying an additional 16,483 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.25.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.1%

Southwest Gas stock opened at $79.36 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12-month low of $64.69 and a 12-month high of $80.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $78.40 and its 200 day moving average is $74.69. The company has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 92.54%.

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.