New England Research & Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 18,075 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,075 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 51,445 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,644 shares of the airline's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 2,885 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $614,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.31.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $31.50. 12,500,492 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,115,974. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -449.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.40.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.84 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.