Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,000,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the 4th 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. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $72.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. 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 one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $80.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $73.77 and its 200-day moving average is $73.75.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.