Creative Planning Purchases 5,132 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 37.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,132 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Simplex Trading LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 144.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 194.6% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $116,865,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,032,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:SWX opened at $83.05 on Friday. Southwest Gas Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $83.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 30.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $316.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The firm’s revenue was down 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.09 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Gas from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.50.

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.