Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 5,000 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,817 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $7,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,520,000 after acquiring an additional 38,710 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,322,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $234,905,000 after buying an additional 105,549 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,807,000 after buying an additional 4,235 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,850,000 after buying an additional 27,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,054,000 after buying an additional 12,913 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on SWX. Bank of America raised shares of Southwest Gas from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.00.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of SWX stock opened at $71.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.79 and a 200-day moving average of $72.94. 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 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. The firm has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The utilities provider reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is 79.74%.

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.