Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Shares in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 14,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,000,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 25.4% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE SWX opened at $75.18 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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.