Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Holdings Raised by Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.

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 filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 64,412 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Southwest Gas worth $10,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.0% in 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. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,836,000 after purchasing an additional 26,300 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,000,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised 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 valued at $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $0.21 on Friday, hitting $68.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 419,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,947. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50-day moving average is $72.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.54. 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 (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company'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 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.