Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $11.69 Million Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 347,826 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 72,281 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Southwest Airlines worth $11,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,482,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Sfmg LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,057,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Six 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.88.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $24.06. 10,949,832 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,931,549. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $29.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.30. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) 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%. Analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.