Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Fmr LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 30.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,216,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,430,203 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $237,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SWX. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 154.8% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE SWX opened at $78.16 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $57.55 and a one year high of $80.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.77.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Company 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.