14,142 Shares in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,000,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,823,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 192.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,755,000 after buying an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 107.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 83,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,131 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 906,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,078,000 after acquiring an additional 43,030 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SWX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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Southwest Gas Price Performance

Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 435,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,325. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.80.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

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.