Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 38,710 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.33% of Southwest Gas worth $473,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $71.90 on Wednesday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $74.87 and a 200-day moving average of $74.11. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SWX shares. 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Gas

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.