Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires 475,000 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 111.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 900,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 475,000 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 1.25% of Southwest Gas worth $63,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of SWX. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $72.72. 63,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 350,066. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's fifty day moving average is $73.07 and its 200 day moving average is $73.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.