Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 34,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,444,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,520,000 after acquiring an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $234,905,000 after acquiring an additional 105,549 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,850,000 after acquiring an additional 27,407 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 884.4% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,390,000 after acquiring an additional 818,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 111.8% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 900,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,639,000 after buying an additional 475,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $78.82. 334,617 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 385,399. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $73.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.36.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.76% and a net margin of 4.66%. Southwest Gas's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 79.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on SWX shares. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $82.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.25.

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.