Edgestream Partners L.P. Acquires New Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,739,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. State Street Corp increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,256,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,450,000 after purchasing an additional 22,013 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,027,000 after purchasing an additional 19,922 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,054,000 after purchasing an additional 12,913 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 906,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,078,000 after purchasing an additional 43,030 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX opened at $72.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.80.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.