Bessemer Group Inc. Has $224,000 Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 90.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,676 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 66,549 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th 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. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $24.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-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 (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 expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LUV shares. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Six 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.88.

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.