13,663 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Purchased by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,663 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its position 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 period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on LUV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.43.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $30.07. The stock had a trading volume of 11,880,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,981,598. 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 has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.22 and its 200 day moving average is $31.03. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 84.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.