Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 37,806 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Ninety One UK Ltd lowered its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 799,353 shares of the airline's stock after selling 37,806 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.13% of Southwest Airlines worth $23,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Motco boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 151.0% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 247.5% during the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LUV traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.38. 6,807,984 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,357,499. The company's 50-day moving average is $30.83 and its 200-day moving average is $28.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.17, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.75 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.38) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 96.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LUV. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.82.

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.