Gabelli Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,201,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 1.79% of Southwest Gas worth $75,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SWX. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 8.1% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 781,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,783,000 after purchasing an additional 58,451 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 86,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,383,000 after buying an additional 7,119 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,117,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $631,828,000 after acquiring an additional 436,206 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 563.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC now owns 144,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,001,000 after acquiring an additional 122,395 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 255.0% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 106,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,637,000 after purchasing an additional 76,347 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 20,477 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,894. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.43. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $53.79 and a one year high of $83.60. The stock has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.08. Southwest Gas had a negative net margin of 4.01% and a positive return on equity of 6.89%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. On average, analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. 888 restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Thursday, June 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $66.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.40.

Southwest Gas Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. It operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. The company also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.