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

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,180 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $9,580,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $473,520,000 after buying an additional 38,710 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Southwest Gas by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,256,637 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,450,000 after acquiring an additional 22,013 shares during the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. lifted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 18.5% in the third quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,197,000 after acquiring an additional 275,992 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,450,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,027,000 after purchasing an additional 19,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 1,270,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

NYSE SWX opened at $72.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The stock has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $74.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.06.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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