Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Sells 88,409 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,344,737 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 88,409 shares during the quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned about 1.87% of Southwest Gas worth $95,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position 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 worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SWX has been the topic of several recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "hold" rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $561,932,258.40. This 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 hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:SWX traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 51,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 350,500. The firm has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.17 and a 200-day moving average of $73.76.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Research analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.18%.

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.