Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $45.67 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 2.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 648,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,069 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $45,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 6,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 856,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,245,000 after purchasing an additional 34,995 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,054,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at about $572,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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 price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.1 %

Southwest Gas stock opened at $74.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.17 and a twelve month high of $78.46. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.39.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.88%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $56,098.38. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,177,055.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.