Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Buys Shares of 7,697 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,697 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,859,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 75,531 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,539,000 after purchasing an additional 9,668 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 128,359 shares of the airline's stock worth $4,315,000 after buying an additional 63,051 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 12,026 shares of the airline's stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 152,900 shares of the airline's stock worth $5,141,000 after buying an additional 30,754 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $36.47 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.25. The company has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.91, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 7.27%. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.36) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 84.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.13.

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.

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