Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $4.12 Million Stock Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lowered its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 50.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 56,521 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned 0.08% of Southwest Gas worth $4,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter worth approximately $936,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the first quarter valued at about $202,000. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 79,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,045,000 after buying an additional 3,318 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 889,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,712,000 after buying an additional 31,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keeley Teton Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 101,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,698,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $79.11 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.64. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.55 and a 1 year high of $79.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.38.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, CFO Robert J. Stefani sold 767 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.14, for a total value of $56,098.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,177,055.32. This represents a 1.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.