Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Stock Position Lifted by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 33.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,699 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. grew 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 valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $403,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth $433,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

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Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX remained flat at $72.11 during trading on Thursday. The stock had a trading volume of 391,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,142. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.02. 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 earnings results 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. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.18%.

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 that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.