Insider Selling: Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Major Shareholder Sells 1,390,000 Shares of Stock

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

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:SWX traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, hitting $78.45. 27,276 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,516. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.07 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. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $74.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.64.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 19,922 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 599.0% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 9,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 8,464 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 245.9% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 18,082 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 12,854 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 10.6% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 5,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SWX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock 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.