Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,099 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 599.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 234.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after buying an additional 37,418 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter worth about $1,349,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 267,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,737,000 after buying an additional 7,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 110,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,836,000 after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX stock opened at $73.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.13. The company has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.43. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.40.

Southwest Gas 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.