Insider Buying: Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director Purchases 5,000 Shares of Stock

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $31.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.81 billion, a PE ratio of 44.08, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.22. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.72.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mattson Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 55,458 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 10,123 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Wealth Funds LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $638,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 16,599 shares of the airline’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 7,963 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

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.