Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Position Boosted by Spirit of America Management Corp NY

Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,121,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.5% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 51,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,743,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter valued at $658,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 52,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,998,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $56,098.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,177,055.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX opened at $73.56 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.55. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.17 and a fifty-two week high of $78.46.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.17). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SWX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Southwest Gas 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.