Norges Bank Invests $51.01 Million in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 721,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $51,011,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SWX. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 48.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 206.2% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 993 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $68.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.06. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.31 and a fifty-two week high of $80.29. 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 (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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