Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Redwood Investment Management LLC reduced 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 and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,011,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 900,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,639,000 after acquiring an additional 475,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,748,000 after acquiring an additional 229,739 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 328.1% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 223,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,821,000 after purchasing an additional 171,478 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $234,905,000 after purchasing an additional 105,549 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX stock traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $70.91. The stock had a trading volume of 146,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Southwest Gas's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.74%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the subject of several research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.