Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,852 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted 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 worth $130,197,000 after acquiring an additional 275,992 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter valued at about $6,823,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 7,276.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,042 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 50,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $6,145,000 after buying an additional 43,131 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SWX shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on SWX
Southwest Gas Price Performance
Shares of SWX traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.12. 274,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 336,654. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The company has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $73.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.76.
Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is currently 90.18%.
Southwest Gas Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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