Scotia Capital Inc. Trims Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Scotia Capital Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,201 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 818 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 247.5% during the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. First Community Trust NA purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 290.3% during the 4th quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 1,288 shares of the airline’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 958 shares in the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ryan C. Green sold 4,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.94, for a total transaction of $147,783.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,361 shares in the company, valued at $789,248.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.6 %

LUV opened at $29.48 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market cap of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $28.40 and a twelve month high of $46.46.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The airline reported ($0.27) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $5.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.73 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.99% and a net margin of 2.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.32) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 20th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 72.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LUV. Barclays lowered Southwest Airlines from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Redburn Partners cut Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Melius cut Southwest Airlines from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $39.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $68.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.71.

About Southwest Airlines

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Southwest Airlines Co engages in the operation and management of a passenger airline. The firm also offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. It operates in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.