Short Interest in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Rises By 27.5%

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,760,000 shares, an increase of 27.5% from the April 30th total of 1,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 458,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:SWX traded down $1.70 on Wednesday, reaching $71.98. 448,047 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,108. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $71.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.25. Southwest Gas has a 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion for 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%. Southwest Gas's quarterly revenue was down 18.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Southwest Gas's payout ratio is 79.74%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Southwest Gas

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 144.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 118.3% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 833 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SWX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.00.

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.