Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $14.33 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 202,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,313 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.28% of Southwest Gas worth $14,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $473,520,000 after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $234,905,000 after acquiring an additional 105,549 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,235 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,850,000 after buying an additional 27,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,054,000 after purchasing an additional 12,913 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas 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 value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX stock traded down $0.41 on Friday, reaching $71.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 32,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,107. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.36. 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 $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 79.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Five 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 a consensus target price of $75.00.

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.