Texas Permanent School Fund Cuts Position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 10th, 2023

Texas Permanent School Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,855 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Southwest Gas worth $2,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Gas during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas by 82.9% in the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Gas in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. 87.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SWX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $71.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price (down from $100.00) on shares of Southwest Gas in a research note on Monday, March 6th. StockNews.com began coverage on Southwest Gas in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Gas

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 2,332,835 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.12 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250,040.20. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 8,944,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $537,741,235.80. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn acquired 55,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $61.00 per share, for a total transaction of $3,364,394.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 10,520,600 shares in the company, valued at approximately $641,756,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn purchased 2,332,835 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $60.12 per share, for a total transaction of $140,250,040.20. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 8,944,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $537,741,235.80. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders acquired 3,236,622 shares of company stock valued at $194,582,985. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Down 0.7 %

SWX stock opened at $55.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.08. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.79 and a 1 year high of $95.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.93.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.22 billion. Southwest Gas had a negative net margin of 4.10% and a positive return on equity of 5.86%. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -86.11%.

Southwest Gas Profile

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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.