Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 990,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.38% of Southwest Gas worth $70,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SWX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 27,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,966,000 after buying an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 8,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,000,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 valued at $64,078,000 after buying an additional 43,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE:SWX opened at $71.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.89 and a 200-day moving average of $73.80. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. 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 (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.18%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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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