Cibc World Markets Corp Makes New $403,000 Investment in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $403,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,256,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $166,450,000 after purchasing an additional 22,013 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake 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 worth $130,197,000 after buying an additional 275,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,027,000 after buying an additional 19,922 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,807,000 after buying an additional 4,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,054,000 after acquiring an additional 12,913 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX stock remained flat at $72.11 on Thursday. The company had a trading volume of 391,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,142. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $74.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.02. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.