Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Purchased by Total Investment Management Inc.

Total Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 13,470 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Motco raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 151.0% in the third quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,115 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $27.03 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $39.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.90, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The business had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “inline” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.18.

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.