Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 3,538.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 326,129 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 317,166 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.06% of Southwest Airlines worth $10,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,108,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896,150 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline's stock worth $95,499,000 after buying an additional 2,641,564 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $85,262,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline's stock worth $202,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,391,495 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,724,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of LUV traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.57. 9,747,380 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,236,891. The company has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.62, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $29.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.36) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target 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. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.53.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now owns 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. Insiders purchased 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines 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.