Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 977,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,106 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $72,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 154.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas during the third quarter worth $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas by 96.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Gas in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $78.30 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.72. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.55 and a twelve month high of $80.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.38.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. Southwest Gas’s revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 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, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SWX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.