Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.60 on Wednesday, hitting $71.77. 305,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 366,654. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $71.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio 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.