Verbena Value LP Boosts Stake in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Verbena Value LP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 38.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 166,246 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,875 shares during the quarter. Southwest Gas accounts for about 2.4% of Verbena Value LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Verbena Value LP’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $14,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 2,048,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $163,885,000 after buying an additional 94,535 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,648,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $131,913,000 after purchasing an additional 228,496 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,602,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,219,000 after purchasing an additional 9,515 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,060,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,883,000 after purchasing an additional 5,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,014,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $81,163,000 after buying an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE SWX opened at $91.22 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.11. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52 week low of $75.75 and a 52 week high of $94.43.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.03. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 19.95% and a return on equity of 6.95%. The company had revenue of $585.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $695.52 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. Southwest Gas’s revenue was down 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Gas has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.170-4.320 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This is a positive change from Southwest Gas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 37.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $99.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Southwest Gas from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, May 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $97.29.

Southwest Gas 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.