Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Has $2.69 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. trimmed its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,000 shares of the airline's stock after selling 19,407 shares during the quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $614,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline's stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $608,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 75,531 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,539,000 after acquiring an additional 9,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $712,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $31.76 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a PE ratio of 44.12, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.36) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 84.71%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LUV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report).

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.