Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Acquires 5,699 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,699 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $403,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $75.18 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.95. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $5.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.32, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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.