KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires 6,100 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 22.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,100 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $2,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.9% in the first quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,826,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,147,000 after acquiring an additional 16,894 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 72.2% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 650,000 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 12.2% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,021,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,376,000 after acquiring an additional 111,341 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the first quarter worth about $31,686,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.5% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 382,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,496,000 after acquiring an additional 16,483 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of SWX stock opened at $78.46 on Friday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 1 year low of $64.69 and a 1 year high of $80.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.08. The company has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 92.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total value of $116,865,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 6,032,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.33.

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.