Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Sold by Moody Aldrich Partners LLC

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,702 shares during the period. Southwest Gas accounts for approximately 1.7% of Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $9,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,823,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 7,276.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 50,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 107.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 83,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,145,000 after purchasing an additional 43,131 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 1.0 %

SWX stock opened at $73.82 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.55 and a 1 year high of $80.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.17. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.43.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SWX. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 target price on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.80.

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.