South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,513 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 62,900 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $9,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $29.80 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.