Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of Southwest Airlines worth $2,308,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $34.38 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.48. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a PE ratio of 47.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS 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 yield of 2.09%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

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.