Xponance Inc. Sells 2,558 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,391 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,558 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LUV shares. Raymond James increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.0 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $34.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.37. 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 one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 48.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.