Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 12,633 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,412 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 12,633 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 269,736 shares of the airline's stock valued at $9,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,541,000. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $2,760,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 98.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 219,380 shares of the airline's stock worth $7,376,000 after buying an additional 108,600 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 75,544 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,540,000 after acquiring an additional 20,661 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.15 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.71. The company had a trading volume of 11,518,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,915,393. The stock has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company's fifty day moving average price is $29.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 2.91%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LUV. Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.88.

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.