Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,662 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 739 shares during the quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Motco grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LUV. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.82.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock opened at $27.54 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year 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 0.99 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.45.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.75 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 1.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.38) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

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.