D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Takes Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 48,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,396,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Southwest Gas as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% in 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 in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased 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 worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Southwest Gas stock opened at $68.98 on Monday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.54. 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 (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 79.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.