Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $59.67 Million Stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 843,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,365 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 1.18% of Southwest Gas worth $59,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SWX shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.51. 247,578 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,642. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $80.29. 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 $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.77.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.