Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 19,922 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.02% of Southwest Gas worth $107,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 96.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.
SWX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $73.50.
Read Our Latest Analysis on SWX
NYSE:SWX opened at $67.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.41. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.55 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $75.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.
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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.
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.
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