Carl Icahn Stock Portfolio: 7 Best Stocks to Buy

3. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Carl Icahn’s Q2 2024 Stake: $775.77 Million

Number of Hedge Fund Investors as of Q2 2024: 15

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) is one of Carl Icahn’s best stocks to buy to diversify an investment portfolio in utilities. With consumer purchasing power poised to receive a significant boost amid a low interest rates environment, the company’s core business of distributing and transporting natural gas should receive a boost on strong demand.

It remains one of Carl Icahn’s favorite holdings owing to its track record in returning value to shareholders through dividends. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) has paid quarterly dividends since going public in 1956. It is also fresh from declaring a $0.62 a share quarterly dividend payable on December 2, 2024.

The dividend offering comes on top of the company reporting an $11 million increase in its operating margin and raising its full-year net income guidance by $5 million. In the second quarter, the company recorded operating earnings per share of 31 cents on operating revenues of $1.18 billion.

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) exited the second quarter in a solid financial position with $599.6 million in cash and cash equivalent, up from $106.5 million as of the end of last year. While offering a dividend yield of 3.36%, it is one of Carl Icahn’s top investment plays for passive income while trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 22.

By the end of Q2 2024, 15 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database held stakes in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX), down from 20 in the previous quarter. The largest stakeholder was Corvex Capital, with over 4. 76 million shares.