Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Acquired by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 25.4% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth $207,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX opened at $76.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.86. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 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, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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.