DnB Asset Management AS Boosts Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 22.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,565 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 27,520 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 426,878 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline's stock worth $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline's stock worth $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,466,529 shares of the airline's stock valued at $116,545,000 after buying an additional 88,869 shares during the period. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.7% during 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 buying an additional 56,757 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

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Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded down $2.79 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.08. 11,466,997 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,558,253. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.62.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LUV. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.