Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Purchased by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 83.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 505,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 229,739 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.70% of Southwest Gas worth $35,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 599.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 8,464 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,836,000 after purchasing an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,000,000. Finally, O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas 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 value of $156,660,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.04. 487,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 359,829. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The company 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on SWX. 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 target on the stock. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Company 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.