Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Has $2.24 Million Stake in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 976 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $2,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% in the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 194.6% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $116,865,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,032,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $82.05 on Friday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.69 and a 52-week high of $82.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.52 and a 200-day moving average of $75.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.61, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.55.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. Southwest Gas’s revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SWX. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.33.

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.