Fruth Investment Management Boosts Stock Position in Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN)

Fruth Investment Management raised its position in Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) by 14.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,236 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management’s holdings in Southwestern Energy were worth $92,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SWN. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Southwestern Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,434,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,332,203 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $192,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924,108 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Southwestern Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $2,027,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southwestern Energy by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,444,522 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $68,412,000 after buying an additional 203,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Southwestern Energy by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 977,353 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $6,402,000 after buying an additional 154,496 shares during the period. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwestern Energy Price Performance

Shares of SWN traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $6.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,678,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,357,375. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.97 and a beta of 1.17. Southwestern Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.59 and a fifty-two week high of $7.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Southwestern Energy had a positive return on equity of 9.00% and a negative net margin of 32.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Southwestern Energy will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Southwestern Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $9.00 to $9.50 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Southwestern Energy from $7.50 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Southwestern Energy from $6.60 to $7.60 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Southwestern Energy in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective (down previously from $8.00) on shares of Southwestern Energy in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.25.

Southwestern Energy Company Profile

Southwestern Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production, and Marketing. The company focuses on the development of unconventional natural gas and oil reservoirs located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana.