Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 621 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 621 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SWX. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 27,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during 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 $72.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $74.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.02. 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 (NYSE:SWX) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.18%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

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.