Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 426,878 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,653,945 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.45% of Southwest Airlines worth $2,308,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,945,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline's stock valued at $555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline's stock valued at $100,080,000 after purchasing an additional 46,110 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reiterated 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. Raymond James boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.54.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

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

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.63. 10,676,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,507,162. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $31.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.60. The company has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a PE ratio of 46.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. 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 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.