New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $5.47 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 162,567 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $5,466,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.94. 3,756,735 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,527,996. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.62. The company has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.35, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve 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.

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Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on LUV. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.43.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% 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.