4,250 Shares in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Purchased by Centiva Capital LP

Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,011,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 111.8% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 900,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,639,000 after acquiring an additional 475,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,748,000 after acquiring an additional 229,739 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 328.1% during the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 223,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,821,000 after purchasing an additional 171,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $234,905,000 after purchasing an additional 105,549 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.21 on Friday, reaching $68.98. 419,282 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 356,522. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company's 50 day moving average is $72.42 and its 200-day moving average is $73.57. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SWX shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

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.