Golden State Equity Partners Increases Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 55.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,043 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,870 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Studio Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the third quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. Axiom Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 18,306 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $30.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a PE ratio of 42.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.45. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.31.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.