Sei Investments Co. Decreases Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Sei Investments Co. decreased its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 98,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 30,568 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $6,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,946,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the third quarter worth $6,823,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,755,000 after buying an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 107.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 83,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after buying an additional 43,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 906,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,078,000 after buying an additional 43,030 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of SWX opened at $71.72 on Tuesday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.92, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Southwest Gas 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.