Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. trimmed its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 77.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,302 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,045 shares during the period. Burney Co.'s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter valued at $66,000. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of SWX stock traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.29. 455,528 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,007. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.55 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29. The stock's 50 day moving average is $73.57 and its 200-day moving average is $73.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.43.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,632,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SWX. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.40.

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.