Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Shares Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.10% of Southwest Gas worth $5,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Southwest Gas in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.80.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.4 %

SWX opened at $76.31 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.26. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $57.56 and a one year high of $80.29.

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 paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total transaction of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,632,604 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.