Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Acquired by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 60.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter worth $207,000. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $72.63 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $73.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.76. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

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.