Kestra Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 777 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 777 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $7,645,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at about $2,963,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $614,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE LUV opened at $29.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.82.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price target (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.