Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Major Shareholder Carl C. Icahn Sells 2,100,000 Shares of Stock

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Major shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s stock are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $73.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve month high of $80.29. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.03.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted 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 for 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SWX. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 884.4% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 910,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,390,000 after acquiring an additional 818,115 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $51,011,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 111.8% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 900,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,639,000 after buying an additional 475,000 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its position in 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 505,555 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,748,000 after buying an additional 229,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

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.