Man Group plc Decreases Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Man Group plc cut its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 79,984 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,063 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.11% of Southwest Gas worth $5,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter worth $1,000,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 216,942 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,340,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX stock traded up $1.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.84. The stock had a trading volume of 324,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 361,136. The stock's 50 day moving average is $71.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.45. The firm has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Southwest Gas Company 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.