Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,025,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,655 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 1.43% of Southwest Gas worth $72,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.51. The stock had a trading volume of 247,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,642. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.77. The company has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. 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.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.