Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Invests $1.09 Million in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 14,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,090,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,370,000 after buying an additional 84,987 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 6.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,053,094 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,117,000 after purchasing an additional 68,254 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 206,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,506,000 after purchasing an additional 60,856 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas by 7,276.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 50,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 234.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,939,000 after purchasing an additional 37,418 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $78.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.55 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at $739,206,030.96. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.