Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Position Raised by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 76.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,290 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the period. 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 period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,119 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In related 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 stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $71.44. 292,847 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,536. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is currently 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.