Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 318 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 154.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 96.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth about $49,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Southwest Gas by 461.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the first quarter valued at about $115,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SWX shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX opened at $72.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $72.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.17 and a twelve month high of $78.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a PEG ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.38.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.