O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. Takes $599,000 Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 154.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth $115,000. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of SWX stock traded down $1.07 on Wednesday, hitting $72.78. 183,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 392,055. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $72.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.59. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $56.17 and a one year high of $78.46.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.88%.

About Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. The company operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. It also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.