Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,954 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SWX. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $72.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.31 and a 1-year high of $80.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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