Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Position Lowered by Corebridge Financial Inc.

Corebridge Financial Inc. trimmed its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 98,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,256 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned 0.14% of Southwest Gas worth $6,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SWX. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price target on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SWX opened at $72.87 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.38, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. 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 52 week low of $64.31 and a 52 week high of $80.29.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given 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 3.40%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.18%.

Southwest Gas 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.