Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Stock Position Lessened by Channing Capital Management LLC

Channing Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,191,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 125,441 shares during the quarter. Southwest Gas makes up 2.2% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $75,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SWX. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,183,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,946,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 975,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,949,000 after purchasing an additional 28,595 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.8% during the third quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 852,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,474,000 after purchasing an additional 15,151 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 20.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 851,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,442,000 after purchasing an additional 147,294 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 519.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 782,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,295,000 after purchasing an additional 656,473 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Citigroup increased their price target on Southwest Gas from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 241,228 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,192. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.79 and a fifty-two week high of $76.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.36.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.16. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 2.78%. The company had revenue of $1.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.27 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 116.98%.

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.