Norges Bank Takes Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 721,413 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $51,011,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.01% of Southwest Gas as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 599.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 8,464 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,836,000 after buying an additional 26,300 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth $1,000,000. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Southwest Gas Trading Up 4.5 %

NYSE:SWX traded up $2.99 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $70.10. 674,270 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 362,182. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $63.49 and a one year high of $80.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.86. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

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.