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Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Southwest Gas logo with Utilities background

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 88.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,679 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,705 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SWX. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter worth $40,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth $49,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 37.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at $66,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Southwest Gas

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.35. The company had a trading volume of 257,956 shares, compared to its average volume of 372,413. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.32. 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 capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.41. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.55 and a 1 year high of $80.29.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX)

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