State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $9.74 Million Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 266.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,821 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 210,772 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $9,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the 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 acquisition, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $25.50 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.17. The company has a market capitalization of $14.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.17) by $0.04. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on LUV. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.88.

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.

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