Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys 20,524 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 826.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,524 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 330.0% during the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 2,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 59.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 100.0% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,175,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,800,000 after purchasing an additional 38,025 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,135,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn bought 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $62.00 per share, for a total transaction of $37,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,016,668 shares in the company, valued at $683,033,416. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn bought 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 25th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $62.00 per share, for a total transaction of $37,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,016,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $683,033,416. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $62.00 per share, with a total value of $86,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 11,022,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $683,401,448. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 112,975 shares of company stock valued at $6,943,362 in the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Southwest Gas from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.80.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX opened at $59.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.03, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.31. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.79 and a 1-year high of $73.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 2.12.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a positive return on equity of 6.89% and a negative net margin of 4.01%. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.49 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 Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 14th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -75.38%.

Southwest Gas Company Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. It operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. The company also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.