Raymond James & Associates Trims Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Raymond James & Associates trimmed its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,295 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.13% of Southwest Gas worth $7,085,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.1% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.5% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 51,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,731,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.3% during the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,743,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the first quarter valued at $658,000. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.4% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 52,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,998,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.7 %

SWX stock opened at $73.59 on Thursday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.84 and a fifty-two week high of $78.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $73.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 1.58. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.38.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 92.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total value of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,055.32. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Southwest Gas Profile

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.