Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $10.60 Million Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 149,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,862 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.21% of Southwest Gas worth $10,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $51,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,748,000 after acquiring an additional 229,739 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 91.4% in the 4th quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 135,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,580,000 after purchasing an additional 23,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,520,000 after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

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Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.76. 30,352 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 355,894. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $73.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.78.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.35 billion. Analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.