Townsquare Capital LLC Decreases Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Townsquare Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 159,946 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 13,528 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $5,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 73,692 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 5,222 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 35,412 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 12,633 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 269,736 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $9,069,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $40,541,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $2,760,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $26.22 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.46. The company has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.27.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.