Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,174 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $343,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline's stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline's stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,853 shares of the airline's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944 over the last 90 days. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $31.20. 7,152,430 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,997,529. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 43.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $29.22 and its 200 day moving average is $31.02.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.36) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

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.