Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Major Shareholder Sells $156,660,000.00 in Stock

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of SWX opened at $73.00 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwest Gas

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.