Barclays PLC increased its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX - Free Report) by 192.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,134 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.15% of Southwest Gas worth $7,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SWX. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,256,637 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $166,450,000 after buying an additional 22,013 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 18.5% during 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 during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 6.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,094 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,117,000 after buying an additional 68,254 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Southwest Gas by 9.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,370,000 after acquiring an additional 84,987 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 977,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $72,123,000 after acquiring an additional 35,106 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
A number of research firms recently commented on SWX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.50.
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SWX opened at $67.87 on Thursday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.55 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $75.19 and a 200 day moving average of $73.57.
Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Southwest Gas's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.
In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at $739,206,030.96. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
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.
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