Nuance Investments LLC Sells 483,873 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Nuance Investments LLC decreased its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 69.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 217,527 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 483,873 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $7,313,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline’s stock worth $100,080,000 after purchasing an additional 46,110 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,977 shares of the airline’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 93,961 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 7,676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 33.5% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 7,055 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $34.67 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.46. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a PE ratio of 48.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LUV. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

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.