nVerses Capital LLC Makes New $66,000 Investment in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 125,914 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,287,000 after buying an additional 14,388 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 98.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 4,879 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 47.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth $599,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.2 %

Southwest Gas stock opened at $73.65 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.56. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.17 and a twelve month high of $78.46.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.17). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

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

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.