Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 32,604,492 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 95.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,563,747 shares of the airline's stock after selling 32,604,492 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Southwest Airlines worth $52,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline's stock valued at $95,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,564 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $85,262,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline's stock valued at $202,219,000 after purchasing an additional 2,391,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $57,724,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LUV. Citigroup reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.59.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $32.69 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.07. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.41, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.36) EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 84.71%.

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.

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