Redwood Investment Management LLC Reduces Stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Redwood Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,779 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,175 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $2,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 31.1% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,836,000 after buying an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter valued at $1,000,000. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. O Keefe Stevens Advisory Inc. now owns 11,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,755,000 after acquiring an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

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 shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $67.89 on Thursday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $72.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.61. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SWX has been the topic of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

About Southwest Gas

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.

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