Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Cuts Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,885 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $66.99 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 3.70%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.18%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

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.