Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 44,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,117,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Southwest Gas at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the 4th 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. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SWX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.98. 419,282 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,709. 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 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $72.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.54.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. Southwest Gas's revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is presently 79.74%.

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.