Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 779 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 779 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.07% of Southwest Gas worth $3,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 461.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 520.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 22.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $70.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 419,372. The company has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.47. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.17 and a 12-month high of $78.46.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 3.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, insider Justin L. Brown sold 2,625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,822,995. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.