Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director Sarah Feinberg Acquires 500 Shares of Stock

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $31.48 per share, for a total transaction of $15,740.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at $230,150.28. This represents a 7.34 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $31.74 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.21. The stock has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $95,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $85,262,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

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.