Carl C. Icahn Sells 2,100,000 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Stock

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $72.11 on Friday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.31 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $74.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.01.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $473,520,000 after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $234,905,000 after buying an additional 105,549 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,256,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,450,000 after buying an additional 22,013 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its position in Southwest Gas by 18.5% during the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,197,000 after buying an additional 275,992 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,027,000 after buying an additional 19,922 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.