Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Decreases Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych lessened its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $107,359,000 after buying an additional 3,111,946 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after buying an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,728,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $30.62 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $31.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.