Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 78,849 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,713 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% during the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.3 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.93, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.91.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LUV shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased 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. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

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.