Barclays PLC Buys 69,212 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 192.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.15% of Southwest Gas worth $7,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter valued at about $6,823,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 9.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,370,000 after buying an additional 84,987 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 6.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,117,000 after buying an additional 68,254 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 206,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $14,506,000 after acquiring an additional 60,856 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of SWX stock traded up $1.70 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $69.57. 457,168 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,859. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $75.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.54. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.41.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.50.

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.