JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 275,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 39,715 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.38% of Southwest Gas worth $20,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SWX. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% during 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 period. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Gas by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 9,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 37.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

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 that occurred 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 approximately $739,206,030.96. This trade represents a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SWX. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:SWX opened at $70.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.43. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.55 and a 52 week high of $80.29. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.94 and a 200 day moving average of $73.14.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

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.