1,020 Shares in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Bought by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,223,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,109,000 after buying an additional 6,786 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 2.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,197,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,185,000 after acquiring an additional 27,500 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,059,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,110,000 after purchasing an additional 207,798 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,117,000 after purchasing an additional 68,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.6% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 889,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,712,000 after purchasing an additional 31,063 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $72.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. 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 released 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 company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.47 EPS. Southwest Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total transaction of $56,098.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,438 shares in the company, valued at $3,177,055.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on SWX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th.

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.