Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 233,233 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 776,839 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 233,233 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $26,117,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.27.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $24.76 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $14.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Airlines

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.