Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 328,090 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 38,362 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Southwest Airlines worth $11,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,262,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $1,919,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $155,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $2,434,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock opened at $33.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.53. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 46.63, 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.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.54.

Southwest Airlines 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.