Signaturefd LLC Trims Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Signaturefd LLC decreased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,711 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 803 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $34.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.39, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

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.