Creative Planning Reduces Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Creative Planning decreased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 1st quarter valued at $936,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 206,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,506,000 after purchasing an additional 60,856 shares during the period. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $503,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 266.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 37,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 27,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Gas news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total value of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of SWX opened at $73.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.84 and a 12 month high of $78.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.55. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.88%.

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.