Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.16% of Southwest Gas worth $7,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 25.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $75.18 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $74.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.93.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SWX shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

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.