Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.33% of Southwest Gas worth $473,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This trade represents 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. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $72.27. 538,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 355,075. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $74.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio 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.