Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Invests $11.78 Million in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 164,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,781,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.23% of Southwest Gas at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 25.8% during the first quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 14,811 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,063,000 after acquiring an additional 3,036 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 117,660.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 5,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 5,883 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 12,738.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 62,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,480,000 after purchasing an additional 61,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,117,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX traded up $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $72.61. The company had a trading volume of 258,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,224. 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 $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The company's fifty day moving average price is $71.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.03.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 79.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.00.

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.