Rakesh Gangwal Purchases 643,788 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stock

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $30.51 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.91. The company has a market capitalization of $18.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 1.17. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $35.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Melius reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.21.

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.