Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Stock Holdings Increased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 17.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,097 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $2,042,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SWX. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 96.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter worth approximately $66,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $74.18 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.72. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.55 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.32 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.41. 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 (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SWX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

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.