Phocas Financial Corp. Cuts Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 85.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 36,413 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 37.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in Southwest Gas by 25.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $207,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on SWX shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.80.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $75.42 on Thursday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.37 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.65.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

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.