California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 5,668 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 312,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,668 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $22,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SWX. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 54.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $72.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $64.31 and a 52-week high of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.09.

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

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.