Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 276 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.11% of Southwest Gas worth $4,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. FMR LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 519.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 782,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,295,000 after buying an additional 656,473 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 160.0% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 325,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,633,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 34.1% in the third quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 585,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,364,000 after purchasing an additional 148,826 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 20.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 851,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,442,000 after purchasing an additional 147,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 140.4% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 108,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,526,000 after purchasing an additional 63,086 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.3 %

SWX stock opened at $75.13 on Monday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.79 and a 1-year high of $76.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.36.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.16. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 2.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 116.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Citigroup boosted their price target on Southwest Gas from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

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.