Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Holdings Lowered by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. reduced its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,958 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,786 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $11,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,223,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,109,000 after acquiring an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,197,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $91,185,000 after acquiring an additional 27,500 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,059,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,110,000 after acquiring an additional 207,798 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,117,000 after acquiring an additional 68,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,370,000 after acquiring an additional 84,987 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX stock opened at $74.52 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 fifty-two week low of $56.17 and a fifty-two week high of $78.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $72.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.46. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.17). Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 92.88%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In related news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. 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 research report on Wednesday.

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.