Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Makes New $609,000 Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 18,117 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $609,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 35.3% in the third quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 120.9% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was 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 available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV stock opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.59. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.78.

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.