Sage Investment Counsel LLC Makes New $272,000 Investment in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Sage Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,852 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 27,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $74.99 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.44.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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.