Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) Short Interest Update

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 1,056,297 shares, a drop of 17.5% from the January 15th total of 1,279,735 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 585,147 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 585,147 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 905.3% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 223.5% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $56,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $1.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $86.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 418,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,046. Southwest Gas has a 12 month low of $64.69 and a 12 month high of $88.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.59 and a 200 day moving average of $80.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $82.00 to $99.00 in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $96.00 price objective on Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.40.

About Southwest Gas

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.