Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stake Lowered by Prudential Financial Inc.

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $555,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.58 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 46.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders 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 2.14%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired 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. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.54.

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.