Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,049 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position 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. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $1,751,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $34.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.38. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 48.39, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LUV. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

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.