Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Cuts Stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,223,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,109,000 after buying an additional 6,786 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 2.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,197,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,185,000 after acquiring an additional 27,500 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,059,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,110,000 after buying an additional 207,798 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Southwest Gas by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,117,000 after purchasing an additional 68,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Southwest Gas by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,370,000 after acquiring an additional 84,987 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $56,098.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $73.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.38. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.17 and a twelve month high of $78.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.17). Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. Southwest Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.