Inspire Investing LLC Buys 4,479 Shares of Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 92.1% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 4,479 shares, bringing its total holdings to 9,342 shares worth approximately $695,000.
• Institutional investors now own 92.77% of Southwest Gas's stock, with several firms, including Farther Finance Advisors LLC and Golden State Wealth Management LLC, making substantial increases in their positions.
• Southwest Gas announced a quarterly dividend of $0.62 per share, scheduled to be paid on December 1st, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.2%.

Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 92.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,479 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 144.0% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 41.2% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $116,865,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 6,032,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.1%

SWX opened at $78.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.28, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.55. Southwest Gas Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $80.57. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $78.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.10.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 4.06% and a return on equity of 6.98%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.33.

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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