Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 7,697 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,697 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,859,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 75,531 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 9,668 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 128,359 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,315,000 after buying an additional 63,051 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,026 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 152,900 shares of the airline’s stock worth $5,141,000 after buying an additional 30,754 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 14,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $36.47 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.25. The company has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 7.27%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.36) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 84.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.13.

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.