Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stock Position Increased by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,691 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 11,173 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,097.12. This represents a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.0%

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $33.89. The company had a trading volume of 5,205,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,148,851. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $29.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.13. The stock has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company 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 was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.36) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.71%.

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.