State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Buys 2,066 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,066 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $2,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 67.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 154.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 96.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the second quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. cut their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 1.1 %

Southwest Gas stock opened at $76.49 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.55 and a 12 month high of $79.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.60. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.38.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

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.