Leibman Financial Services Inc. Sells 47,558 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Leibman Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 30.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,887 shares of the airline's stock after selling 47,558 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines makes up 2.7% of Leibman Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Leibman Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $3,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the third quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of LUV traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.11. The company had a trading volume of 6,697,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,496,636. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50 day moving average price is $32.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.04. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $19.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -473.00, a PEG ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. Southwest Airlines's revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.78 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,028.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.55.

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.