Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 presently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 192.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,755,000 after buying an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company's stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of SWX stock traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.01. 380,596 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 364,420. Southwest Gas has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $71.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SWX. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Gas from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.00.

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.