Jane Street Group LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Jane Street Group LLC lessened its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 32,363 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned about 0.07% of Southwest Gas worth $3,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,650 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas 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 approximately $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.98. The company had a trading volume of 419,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,947. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $72.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.54.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 3.60%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 79.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

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.