27,400 Shares in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 27,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,937,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,256,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,450,000 after acquiring an additional 22,013 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,027,000 after purchasing an additional 19,922 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,807,000 after buying an additional 4,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,054,000 after buying an additional 12,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX stock opened at $72.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.01. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 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, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Company 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.