Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX Shares Purchased by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation by 6.5% to a total of 54,438 shares, valued at approximately $4,050,000.
• Major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares, reducing his ownership by 19.91% and leaving him with about 6 million shares valued at around $470 million.
• Research analysts are optimistic about Southwest Gas, with multiple upgrades leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price increase to $82.33.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,438 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned 0.08% of Southwest Gas worth $4,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the 1st 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. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,015.2% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 4,690 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter valued at $1,163,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 99.5% during the 1st quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,219 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 1st quarter valued at $332,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related 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 value of $116,865,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,032,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of SWX opened at $79.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.55. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $78.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.02. Southwest Gas Corporation has a twelve month low of $64.69 and a twelve month high of $80.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 92.54%.

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.

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