Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 1,359 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Financial Counselors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,723 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,359 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $85,262,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,541,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,308,146,000 after purchasing an additional 426,878 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE LUV 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 46.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.33 and its 200-day moving average is $31.53. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.