Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 46.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 329,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 281,833 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.46% of Southwest Gas worth $23,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised 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 worth $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $6,946,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the third quarter worth $6,823,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings 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 worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total transaction of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents 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 through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of SWX stock opened at $72.87 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.06.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

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.