Czech National Bank Has $4.37 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 130,035 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 7,981 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 55.8% in the third quarter. City State Bank now owns 1,955 shares of the airline's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of LUV traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $32.16. 9,662,444 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,758,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of -459.47, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average is $32.99 and its 200-day moving average is $30.09. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -1,028.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LUV. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas upgraded Southwest Airlines to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, November 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.43.

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.