Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,224 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $7,645,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,963,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $614,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $30.62 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.94. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current 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 is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.78.

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.