Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $10.45 Million Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 77.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 147,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 64,412 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.21% of Southwest Gas worth $10,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 31.1% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,836,000 after buying an additional 26,300 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,000,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on SWX shares. StockNews.com cut Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. 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. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:SWX traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.98. The stock had a trading volume of 419,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 357,194. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $72.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. 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 twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company 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 company posted $1.37 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is presently 79.74%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.