Cibc World Markets Corp Buys 19,173 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Cibc World Markets Corp increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,290 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 19,173 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,498,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position 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. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $29.50 target price (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.52.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.67. 9,623,454 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,119,508. The company has a market capitalization of $20.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.43. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines 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.