Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. Maverick Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new position in Southwest Gas in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,823,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 69,212 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 7,276.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 51,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,765,000 after purchasing an additional 50,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 107.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 83,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,131 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SWX. 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 reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Friday, December 13th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.80.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Gas

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

Southwest Gas Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $75.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.43. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-month 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.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. Southwest Gas’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

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.