Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,808 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $3,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 519.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 782,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,295,000 after purchasing an additional 656,473 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 140.4% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 108,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,526,000 after purchasing an additional 63,086 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 851,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,442,000 after purchasing an additional 147,294 shares during the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 150,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,075,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,598,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX stock opened at $72.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.33. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.79 and a 52 week high of $76.75.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.27 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 7.28%. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SWX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

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.