KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $2.43 Million Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 72,055 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $2,434,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline's stock valued at $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline's stock valued at $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 88,869 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $116,247,000 after purchasing an additional 56,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline's stock valued at $73,636,000 after buying an additional 133,366 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 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, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.32.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $2.00 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.59. 17,819,969 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,550,051. The stock has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.87, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $31.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.62. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.