Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 1,091 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,005 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.18% of Southwest Gas worth $8,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 985,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,370,000 after acquiring an additional 84,987 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 24.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 5,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the second quarter valued at $360,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 23.8% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 23,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter worth $890,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Southwest Gas stock opened at $73.81 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.43. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.55 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.15 and its 200 day moving average is $73.11.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.