Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Gulf International Bank UK Ltd

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,783 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $7,645,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares in the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,963,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $614,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $31.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $18.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.15, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its 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 return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.