Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Has $833,000 Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lessened its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 27.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,487 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Southwest Gas by 144.3% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 139,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,839,000 after purchasing an additional 82,192 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter valued at $51,011,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,748,000 after buying an additional 229,739 shares during the period. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 2,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 135,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,580,000 after buying an additional 23,180 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 4.8 %

SWX stock opened at $68.78 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.06. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Southwest Gas 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.