Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Reduces Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,071 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,190 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,145,000 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 position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $34.16 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.45, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced 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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LUV. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

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.