Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Major Shareholder Carl C. Icahn Sells 1,390,000 Shares

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at $739,206,030.96. This represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Major shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:SWX opened at $76.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.38. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.55 and a 52-week high of $79.20.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the first quarter worth about $936,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 206,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,506,000 after acquiring an additional 60,856 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,349,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Southwest Gas by 3.0% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 267,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,737,000 after purchasing an additional 7,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 14.7% during the third quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC now owns 134,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,926,000 after purchasing an additional 17,227 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SWX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th.

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.