2,536,050 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Acquired by Sound Shore Management Inc. CT

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 2,536,050 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $85,262,000. Southwest Airlines accounts for 2.8% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Wahed Invest LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,135 shares of the airline’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $34.84 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.39. The company has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.39, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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 the consensus estimate 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 expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.