First Dallas Securities Inc. Sells 3,250 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

First Dallas Securities Inc. decreased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 19.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,125 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 3,250 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline’s stock worth $100,080,000 after buying an additional 46,110 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $73,636,000 after buying an additional 133,366 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $30.50 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.97 and a 200-day moving average of $30.45. 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 $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America reiterated 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. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.