Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 5,000 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 105,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.15% of Southwest Gas worth $7,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the 4th 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 period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 216,942 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,340,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX traded down $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.56. 272,086 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 366,321. The company's 50-day moving average is $71.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.90. 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 has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWX has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.00.

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.