Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases 17,269 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 174.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,269 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $1,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 69,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This trade represents 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 this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.44. 292,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 363,536. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $71.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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