Carl C. Icahn Sells 2,100,000 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Stock

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Southwest Gas stock opened at $72.08 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.06, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SWX. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Company 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.