Insider Buying: Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director Buys $150,150.00 in Stock

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:LUV opened at $31.74 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.12 and a 200 day moving average of $31.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.08, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings 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 last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LUV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

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.