Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $1.25 Million Stock Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,118 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter worth $1,000,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,755,000 after acquiring an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 216,942 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,340,000 after purchasing an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One 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.com, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company'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 value of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of SWX traded down $1.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 431,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 359,476. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.28 and a 200 day moving average of $73.52. 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 Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm 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 quarterly revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.74%.

Southwest Gas Company 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.