Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,602 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Southwest Gas worth $4,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. One equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE SWX traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.51. 247,578 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 355,654. 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 cap of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 29.64, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.77. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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