Zacks Investment Management Acquires New Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 83,061 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $2,793,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,482,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Sfmg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $1,057,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline's stock worth $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.68 on Monday, hitting $24.06. The stock had a trading volume of 10,949,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,931,551. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.89 and a 200 day moving average of $31.30. 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 twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94.

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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.