Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $26.12 Million Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 776,839 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 233,233 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.13% of Southwest Airlines worth $26,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake 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. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $608,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $25.75. The stock had a trading volume of 2,345,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,654,464. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day moving average is $30.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LUV. Raymond James raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.27.

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.