Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 96.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,359 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 63,051 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the period. Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,751,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline's stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.5 %

LUV traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $34.67. The company had a trading volume of 9,623,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,133,266. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $31.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.46. The company has a market cap of $20.55 billion, a PE ratio of 48.15, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

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Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on LUV. UBS Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup reissued a "sell" rating and set a $29.50 price target (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.52.

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.