41,000 Shares in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Purchased by Icon Advisers Inc. Co.

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 41,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,899,000. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Southwest Gas as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at about $217,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 599.0% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.4% in 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. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business'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 directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $73.51. The stock had a trading volume of 247,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 353,931. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $73.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.