Rhumbline Advisers Raises Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,081,622 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of Southwest Airlines worth $36,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 78.6% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the company's 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 represents a 32.74% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 3.2%

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,190,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,228,411. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.15. The company has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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 the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.36) EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. 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 note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.53.

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.