Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 10,576 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 5.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 195,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,576 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.27% of Southwest Gas worth $14,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 4.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX stock opened at $79.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.55 and a fifty-two week high of $79.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $74.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.64.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

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.