Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 18,117 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,644 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Alexander Labrunerie & CO. Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Caas Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,009,000. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 119,113 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,023,000 after acquiring an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 7,681 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.3 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.59. The company has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.31, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines 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.