Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Sells 9,808 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP decreased its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 76.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,808 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% in 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 last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Southwest Gas by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 419,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,947. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $72.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Gas 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 value of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas 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.