Carl Icahn Sells 1,500,000 Shares of Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) Stock

Key Points

• Carl Icahn, a major shareholder of Southwest Gas, sold 1,500,000 shares at an average price of $77.91, totaling about $116.87 million, which represents a 19.91% decrease in his ownership.
• Southwest Gas reported $0.53 earnings per share for the last quarter, beating estimates, but revenue was down 5.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, with a yield of 3.2%, and has a current dividend payout ratio of 92.54%.

Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) major shareholder Carl Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company's stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded up $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $78.20. The stock had a trading volume of 674,342 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,587. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.76. 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 has a market cap of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55. Southwest Gas Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $64.69 and a fifty-two week high of $80.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The business had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 92.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 223.5% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 440 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Simplex Trading LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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