Northern Trust Corp Buys 97,709 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 818,023 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 97,709 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.14% of Southwest Gas worth $57,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during 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 during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 290 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of NYSE SWX traded down $3.63 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $72.05. The stock had a trading volume of 131,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,917. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $72.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.71. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SWX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Gas from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.00.

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.