Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 51,034 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 915,105 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 51,034 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.15% of Southwest Airlines worth $26,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Provident Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 7,599,210 shares of the airline's stock valued at $219,465,000 after acquiring an additional 460,480 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,470 shares of the airline's stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 211.6% during the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 37,818 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,092,000 after buying an additional 25,680 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,054 shares of the airline's stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 991 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.19 on Monday, reaching $26.84. 15,680,258 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,868,521. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $16.06 billion, a PE ratio of 42.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50 day moving average is $30.20 and its 200-day moving average is $28.57. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The business had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI restated an "inline" rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.71.

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.