Rhumbline Advisers Has $15.22 Million Stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 211,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,956 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.29% of Southwest Gas worth $15,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:SWX traded up $0.24 on Monday, hitting $71.33. 322,421 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,015. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $71.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.09.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Southwest Gas's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.