Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,791 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SWX. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 67.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 154.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 96.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth $49,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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 price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of Southwest Gas 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. The trade was a 1.74 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $76.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.60. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.55 and a 52-week high of $79.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Southwest Gas Company 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.