Gradient Investments LLC Purchases 47,632 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 525,042 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 47,632 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC owned 0.09% of Southwest Airlines worth $17,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after buying an additional 2,896,150 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline's stock valued at $95,499,000 after buying an additional 2,641,564 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $85,262,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline's stock valued at $202,219,000 after buying an additional 2,391,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $57,724,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV traded up $0.58 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.85. 5,008,640 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,207,882. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.15. The company has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.63, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LUV. 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 Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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 note on Thursday, April 24th. 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, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.53.

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.