EntryPoint Capital LLC Grows Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 91.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,684 shares during the quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maverick Capital Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 1,765,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,197,000 after purchasing an additional 275,992 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Gas in the fourth quarter valued at $6,946,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Southwest Gas during the 3rd quarter worth about $6,823,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 192.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 105,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,755,000 after acquiring an additional 69,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 107.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 83,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,145,000 after acquiring an additional 43,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. This represents a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Gas Stock Performance

Shares of SWX opened at $72.08 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.02. The firm has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a PE ratio of 29.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $64.31 and a 12-month high of $80.29. 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 (NYSE:SWX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.18. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.35 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. Southwest Gas’s payout ratio is 90.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Southwest Gas Company 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.