Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Acquires 171,478 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 328.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 223,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 171,478 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL owned approximately 0.31% of Southwest Gas worth $15,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,520,000 after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 3.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,807,000 after buying an additional 4,235 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $72,850,000 after buying an additional 27,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $70,054,000 after buying an additional 12,913 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE SWX traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $73.37. 356,578 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 349,745. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.72. The stock has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.58, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is currently 90.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. 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 for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

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.