Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director Acquires $15,740.00 in Stock

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director Sarah Feinberg bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.48 per share, with a total value of $15,740.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,150.28. This trade represents a 7.34 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $31.74 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.24.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.