Barclays PLC Has $9.62 Million Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,863 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.19% of Southwest Gas worth $9,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of SWX traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.54. The stock had a trading volume of 213,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,255. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.17 and a 200 day moving average of $73.74.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.