Geode Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Geode Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,440,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,780 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.01% of Southwest Gas worth $101,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,520,000 after buying an additional 38,710 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,807,000 after acquiring an additional 4,235 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,054,000 after buying an additional 12,913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 906,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,078,000 after purchasing an additional 43,030 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded up $1.15 on Tuesday, hitting $73.23. The company had a trading volume of 20,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,531. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.91 and a 200-day moving average of $73.78. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on 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 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, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

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.