Gradient Investments LLC Reduces Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 477,410 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 18,275 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $16,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,551,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $8,478,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.25.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,028.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.31.

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.