Bessemer Group Inc. Has $224,000 Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 90.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,676 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 66,549 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $24.85 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.35. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LUV. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.