Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Kiltearn Partners LLP

Kiltearn Partners LLP lowered its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,129,683 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 121,300 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines makes up about 6.3% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Kiltearn Partners LLP owned approximately 0.19% of Southwest Airlines worth $37,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during 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 in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $33.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.