Southwestern Energy Company Stock Hold Recommendation Reiterated (SWN)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) has been reiterated by TheStreet Ratings as a hold with a ratings score of C- . Among the primary strengths of the company is its expanding profit margins over time. At the same time, however, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• SWN, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 7.1%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 10.6%. Weakness in the company's revenue seems to have hurt the bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• The gross profit margin for SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY CO is rather high; currently it is at 61.50%. Regardless of SWN's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, SWN's net profit margin of -21.10% significantly underperformed when compared to the industry average.
• SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY CO has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. We feel it is likely to report a decline in earnings in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY CO increased its bottom line by earning $1.82 versus $1.73 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 25.8% in earnings ($1.35 versus $1.82).
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry and the overall market, SOUTHWESTERN ENERGY CO's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 182.7% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $175.17 million to -$144.82 million.

Southwestern Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil primarily in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream Services. Southwestern Energy has a market cap of $12.23 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. The company has a P/E ratio of -32.9, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. Shares are up 9.3% year to date as of the close of trading on Thursday.

You can view the full Southwestern Energy Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

--Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff.

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