Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd

PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 295,970 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 4,695 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines accounts for approximately 3.1% of PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. PARUS FINANCE UK Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $9,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 147,565 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,961,000 after acquiring an additional 27,520 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $264,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $5,466,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,724,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 36,225 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,218,000 after buying an additional 8,712 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0 %

LUV stock opened at $33.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.53. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LUV. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.54.

Southwest Airlines 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.