Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 14,785 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Stevens Capital Management LP cut its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 71.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,015 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 14,785 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,466,529 shares of the airline’s stock worth $116,545,000 after purchasing an additional 88,869 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 3,457,661 shares of the airline’s stock worth $116,247,000 after purchasing an additional 56,757 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $73,636,000 after buying an additional 133,366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of LUV opened at $34.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.15, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provides scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a total fleet of 817 Boeing 737 aircraft; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.