Tidal Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Tidal Investments LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 53.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,518 shares of the airline's stock after selling 51,806 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $37,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.78. The stock had a trading volume of 7,319,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,033,412. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.38. The stock has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -468.29, a PEG ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LUV. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, November 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.37.

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.