Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 2,858 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,122 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,858 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $89,068,000 after buying an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $614,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,945,000 after buying an additional 19,000 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.1 %

LUV opened at $29.20 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.44 and its 200-day moving average is $31.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price 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. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

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.