New England Research & Management Inc. Makes New $608,000 Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

New England Research & Management Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 18,075 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $608,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 36.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 329,366 shares of the airline’s stock worth $9,305,000 after buying an additional 88,106 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 235.1% in the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 24,943 shares of the airline’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 17,500 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 265,150 shares of the airline’s stock worth $7,586,000 after buying an additional 13,525 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 12.0% in the second quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,586 shares of the airline’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth about $609,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:LUV opened at $31.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.39. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,028.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.31.

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.