Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lowered its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 74.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,705 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 167,541 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LUV. Motco grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 247.5% during the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE:LUV opened at $27.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.07. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $21.91 and a 12 month high of $39.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.48 billion, a PE ratio of 36.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.25. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $6.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.38) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI reissued an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.82.

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.