Inscription Capital LLC Takes $366,000 Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,907 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $31.44 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.99, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 1.23. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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. Susquehanna dropped their target price 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. 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.88.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.