Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 51,204 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 56.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,244 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,204 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Motco raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,115 shares of the airline’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 7.0 %

LUV stock opened at $27.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.48 and its 200 day moving average is $28.53. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 96.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on LUV shares. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.82.

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.