Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Holdings Lifted by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 471,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 21,919 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.66% of Southwest Gas worth $33,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. UMB Bank n.a. grew 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 purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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. Covestor Ltd grew 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 in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

SWX opened at $69.08 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. 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 cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.42 and a 200-day moving average of $73.57.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.50 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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