Xponance Inc. Trims Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure 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 SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.2% during the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third 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. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 11.5% during the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $34.84 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The company 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $31.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.37.

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%. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LUV. Raymond James lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised 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 report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.