27,400 Shares in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Bought by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 27,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,937,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.5% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,197,000 after buying an additional 275,992 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,946,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,823,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 107.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 83,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Gas stock opened at $72.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.01. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus 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.