U S Global Investors Inc. Has $116.25 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

U S Global Investors Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,457,661 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 56,757 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines makes up about 11.5% of U S Global Investors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. U S Global Investors Inc. owned approximately 0.58% of Southwest Airlines worth $116,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the third quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $30.62 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.94. 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 $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 42.53, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.