Marshall Wace LLP Lowers Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 73.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,011 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SWX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.54. 257,436 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,508. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29. The business's 50 day moving average is $72.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas 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 of the company's stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.