Bokf Na Buys 3,706 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Bokf Na grew its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 2,273.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,706 shares during the quarter. Bokf Na's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SWX. 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 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock opened at $75.74 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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