Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 76.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,117 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 3,726 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $34.84 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The firm has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.39, a PEG 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, 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%. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LUV. 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. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.52.

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.