82,900 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Purchased by Nkcfo LLC

Nkcfo LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 82,900 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $2,787,000. Southwest Airlines comprises approximately 1.2% of Nkcfo LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $107,359,000 after buying an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline’s stock worth $100,080,000 after buying an additional 46,110 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $89,068,000 after buying an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $73,636,000 after acquiring an additional 133,366 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of LUV opened at $30.21 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 current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.63.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LUV. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

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.