Kiltearn Partners LLP Has $37.98 Million Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Kiltearn Partners LLP decreased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,129,683 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 121,300 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines accounts for approximately 6.3% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Kiltearn Partners LLP’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $37,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth $212,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 8,977 shares of the airline’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 973 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 93,961 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 7,676 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 7,055 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.7% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 38,795 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.94 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.50.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors 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 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.