Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,111,634 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 372,313 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.02% of Southwest Airlines worth $205,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,108,750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline's stock worth $475,092,000 after buying an additional 320,421 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,466,529 shares of the airline's stock worth $116,545,000 after purchasing an additional 88,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 3,457,661 shares of the airline's stock valued at $116,247,000 after purchasing an additional 56,757 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.9 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $24.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $29.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.21. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LUV shares. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Susquehanna cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.88.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.

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