Norges Bank Makes New $57.72 Million Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,716,952 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $57,724,000. Norges Bank owned 0.29% of Southwest Airlines at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in 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 during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,262,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $40,541,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $8,973,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.43.

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Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV traded down $3.07 on Friday, reaching $25.79. The stock had a trading volume of 23,110,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,646,211. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.13 and a 200-day moving average of $31.58. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $15.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. 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 (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.