Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Purchased by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,062 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,205 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $6,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $31.91 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.62. 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 market cap of $18.91 billion, a PE ratio of 44.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.43.

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.