UBS Group AG Boosts Stock Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) by 9.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $2,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 51.2% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 34.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,177 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth about $108,000. 87.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $71.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TheStreet downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.75.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $60.37 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.93 and a fifty-two week high of $95.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.59. The company has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is -86.11%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc engages in the energy business. It operates through the following business segments: Natural Gas Operations and Utility Infrastructure Services. The Natural Gas Operations segment focuses on purchasing, distribution, and transportation of natural gas in Arizona, California, and Nevada.