Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 46.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,137 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 281,833 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Southwest Gas worth $23,273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas by 112.4% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 10,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 234.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,403 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 37,418 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,458,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,021 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,255,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas during the third quarter worth $1,645,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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 on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $72.27. The stock had a trading volume of 538,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,075. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.09.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

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.