ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC Purchases 91,000 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 19.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 558,200 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 91,000 shares during the quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Southwest Airlines worth $18,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during 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 period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.8 %

LUV traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.83. 8,553,008 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,976,275. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.36) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on LUV. Citigroup cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

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.