Spirit of America Management Corp NY Boosts Stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Spirit of America Management Corp NY raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $76.63 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.90, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.55 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.24.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.80.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.