Snowden Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 63.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,175 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 7,464 shares during the quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $257,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,975 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,135 shares of the airline’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock worth $73,636,000 after purchasing an additional 133,366 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $32.47 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week high of $36.12. The firm has a market cap of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.10, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.36) EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 84.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $614,097.12. This represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.79% 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.