River Road Asset Management LLC Buys 357 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,172,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Southwest Gas comprises approximately 1.1% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 1.63% of Southwest Gas worth $86,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SWX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 9.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,370,000 after buying an additional 84,987 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 6.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,117,000 after buying an additional 68,254 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 41.9% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 206,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,506,000 after buying an additional 60,856 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 7,276.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after buying an additional 50,350 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 31,063 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas 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 value of $56,098.38. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $71.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.38. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.03 and a 1 year high of $78.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 98.41%.

Southwest Gas Company 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.