Citigroup Inc. Increases Stock Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 234.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,418 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.07% of Southwest Gas worth $3,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 27,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,001,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 4.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Gas by 2.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $645,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 37.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE:SWX opened at $78.00 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.55 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.76.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly 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. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.10 earnings per share. Southwest Gas’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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.

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.