Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Holdings Lifted by Slate Path Capital LP

Slate Path Capital LP grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 401.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 542,000 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 434,000 shares during the period. Slate Path Capital LP owned about 0.09% of Southwest Airlines worth $18,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.49. The company had a trading volume of 10,534,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,922,846. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $29.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.13. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.71%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LUV. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Melius upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.54.

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.