LPL Financial LLC Acquires 2,541 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,541 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,836,000 after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $72.16 on Tuesday. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.56 and its 200 day moving average is $73.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm 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 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.