Zimmer Partners LP Buys 818,115 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 884.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 910,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 818,115 shares during the quarter. Southwest Gas makes up approximately 1.1% of Zimmer Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Zimmer Partners LP owned approximately 1.27% of Southwest Gas worth $64,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $863,000. Twinbeech Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,506,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 300,180 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $21,225,000 after purchasing an additional 77,808 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 471,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,351,000 after purchasing an additional 21,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.2%

SWX traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.19. 490,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,588. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $72.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.47. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for 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 firm's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is 79.74%.

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.