NBC Securities Inc. Acquires 5,883 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 117,660.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,883 shares during the quarter. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $473,520,000 after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $234,905,000 after buying an additional 105,549 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,807,000 after buying an additional 4,235 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,850,000 after buying an additional 27,407 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,054,000 after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of SWX stock traded up $0.24 on Monday, reaching $71.33. 322,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,015. 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 50-day moving average of $71.56 and a 200-day moving average of $73.09. The company has a market cap of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $64.31 and a one year high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

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.