Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Southwest Gas Corporation $SWX

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Gas Corporation (NYSE:SWX) by 264.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,372 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Gas were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SWX. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Gas by 1,055.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 144.0% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 1,001.8% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 118.3% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Gas by 194.6% during the 2nd quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. 92.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 1,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.91, for a total transaction of $116,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,032,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000,177.64. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Gas Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE SWX opened at $78.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.25, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $78.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.29. Southwest Gas Corporation has a 52-week low of $64.69 and a 52-week high of $80.57.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. Southwest Gas had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 4.06%.Southwest Gas’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Gas Corporation will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Gas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 92.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on SWX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Zacks Research lowered Southwest Gas from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Southwest Gas from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Southwest Gas from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Gas presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.33.

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.