Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 779 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $3,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,054,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,059,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,110,000 after purchasing an additional 207,798 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 160.0% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 325,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,633,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares in the last quarter. 13D Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 1,374.2% during the fourth quarter. 13D Management LLC now owns 113,232 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,173,000 after buying an additional 105,551 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter worth $3,481,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, insider Justin L. Brown sold 2,625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.50, for a total transaction of $200,812.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 23,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,822,995. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.9 %

SWX stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.76. 7,967 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 419,372. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.47. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.17 and a twelve month high of $78.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 3.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.88%.

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.