Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Buys 4,968,002 Shares of Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,364,192 shares of the energy company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,968,002 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 3.57% of Southwestern Energy worth $298,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. acquired a new stake in Southwestern Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $13,265,000. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its holdings in Southwestern Energy by 3,468.3% during the 1st quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 12,360,286 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $93,691,000 after acquiring an additional 12,013,898 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Southwestern Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $606,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Southwestern Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $152,000. Finally, K2 Principal Fund L.P. acquired a new stake in Southwestern Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $2,868,000. 86.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Southwestern Energy from $6.60 to $7.60 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southwestern Energy in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Southwestern Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Southwestern Energy from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Southwestern Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $9.00 to $9.50 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwestern Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.42.

Southwestern Energy Stock Up 3.0 %

SWN stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $6.53. 52,856,876 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,469,356. The stock has a market cap of $7.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Southwestern Energy has a fifty-two week low of $5.93 and a fifty-two week high of $7.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $6.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.02.

Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) last released its quarterly 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 negative net margin of 32.93% and a positive return on equity of 9.00%. Southwestern Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwestern Energy will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.