Lee Financial Co Sells 3,445 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Lee Financial Co cut its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 27.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,313 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 3,445 shares during the period. Lee Financial Co’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $30.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.63. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The firm has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.78.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Southwest Airlines

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.