Carl C. Icahn Acquires 156,302 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) Stock

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) major shareholder Carl C. Icahn acquired 156,302 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.11 per share, for a total transaction of $9,395,313.22. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 9,688,006 shares in the company, valued at $582,346,040.66. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Southwest Gas Price Performance

SWX stock opened at $60.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.94, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.75 and a 12-month high of $95.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.32.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is -86.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Gas

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 82.9% in the fourth quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SWX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Southwest Gas from $71.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target (down previously from $100.00) on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Monday, March 6th. Bank of America lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 30th. TheStreet lowered shares of Southwest Gas from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, December 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.60.

About Southwest Gas

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Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc engages in the energy business. It operates through the following business segments: Natural Gas Operations and Utility Infrastructure Services. The Natural Gas Operations segment focuses on purchasing, distribution, and transportation of natural gas in Arizona, California, and Nevada.