MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,043 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.09% of Southwest Gas worth $4,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Southwest Gas by 30.4% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after buying an additional 4,611 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 234.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 53,403 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,939,000 after buying an additional 37,418 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Gas by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 977,810 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,123,000 after buying an additional 35,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Southwest Gas by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 654,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,308,000 after acquiring an additional 6,059 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.77% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SWX stock opened at $78.16 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.77. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.55 and a 12-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 firm has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.38.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 3.44%. Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,390,000 shares of Southwest Gas stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.74, for a total value of $106,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,632,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $739,206,030.96. The trade was a 12.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SWX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southwest Gas from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Gas from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th.

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.