Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN – Get Rating) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The energy company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02), Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $4.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Southwestern Energy had a negative net margin of 8.58% and a positive return on equity of 185.01%. Southwestern Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 294.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share.

Southwestern Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SWN opened at $6.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. Southwestern Energy has a 52 week low of $3.81 and a 52 week high of $9.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $7.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Benchmark upgraded Southwestern Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $14.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 15th. Scotiabank raised shares of Southwestern Energy from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $9.50 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 25th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwestern Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $11.00 to $13.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 19th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Southwestern Energy from $9.00 to $10.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Southwestern Energy from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwestern Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $9.35.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwestern Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 7.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,222,158 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $919,352,000 after acquiring an additional 9,410,861 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 21.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,933,972 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $401,047,000 after purchasing an additional 9,882,224 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 3.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,070,778 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $108,055,000 after purchasing an additional 524,167 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 269.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,958,070 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $100,079,000 after purchasing an additional 10,175,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwestern Energy by 5.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,997,014 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $71,679,000 after purchasing an additional 524,570 shares in the last quarter. 85.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwestern Energy announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 21st that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the energy company to buy up to 13.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwestern Energy Company Profile

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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.