Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.11 Million Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,068 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,049 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd 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 period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after buying an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,466,529 shares of the airline’s stock worth $116,545,000 after buying an additional 88,869 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 56,757 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock worth $73,636,000 after buying an additional 133,366 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $34.84 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.16 and its 200-day moving average is $31.38.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

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.