Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $21.60 Million Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 642,552 shares of the airline's stock after selling 12,724 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.11% of Southwest Airlines worth $21,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth 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 period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:LUV traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.22. 13,412,639 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,863,876. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.41, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

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Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 2.75%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Bank of America reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.27.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought 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 trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.