Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Shares Bought by Clear Creek Financial Management LLC

Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake 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 during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake 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 period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE SWX opened at $78.46 on Friday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 12 month low of $64.69 and a 12 month 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $78.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.08.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 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 firm 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 firm posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Southwest Gas

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.