Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 6,987 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 73,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,987 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.10% of Southwest Gas worth $5,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 48.2% in 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 in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 206.2% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 94,500.0% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 946 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 945 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Southwest Gas by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,013 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on SWX shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Activity at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,932,258.40. This trade represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 0.3 %

SWX stock opened at $72.74 on Tuesday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $64.31 and a twelve 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. The stock has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $73.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.75.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is currently 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.