Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Stake Boosted by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 347,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $22,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $639,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $685,000. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 25,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 3,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at $230,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Citigroup increased their price target on Southwest Gas from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $75.00 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $71.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.38. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.38, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.36. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.79 and a 1 year high of $76.75.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 116.98%.

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.