Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Major Shareholder Carl C. Icahn Purchases 27,803 Shares

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 27,803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 26th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $57.87 per share, for a total transaction of $1,608,959.61. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 10,835,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $627,023,128.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 2.0 %

Southwest Gas stock traded up $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.33. 424,082 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 548,609. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.79 and a 52-week high of $95.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.27.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.41). The business had revenue of $1.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Southwest Gas had a positive return on equity of 6.24% and a negative net margin of 4.79%. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 14th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently -65.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Southwest Gas from $71.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, March 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SWX. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 660.0% during the first quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,322,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $82,609,000 after purchasing an additional 1,148,750 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 631.1% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 850,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,629,000 after purchasing an additional 734,161 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,646,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $520,388,000 after acquiring an additional 690,696 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $39,176,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 146.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 882,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,582,000 after acquiring an additional 524,625 shares in the last quarter. 87.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

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Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc engages in the energy business. It operates through the following business segments: Natural Gas Operations and Utility Infrastructure Services. The Natural Gas Operations segment focuses on purchasing, distribution, and transportation of natural gas in Arizona, California, and Nevada.