Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 562,297 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 111,455 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned approximately 0.09% of Southwest Airlines worth $18,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline's stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.94. 10,284,390 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,755,848. 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 $17.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.72.

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.