Wealthfront Advisers LLC Grows Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 34,267 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on LUV. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $31.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.22. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced 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 net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.