Ackerman Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Ackerman Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,382 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,728,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth approximately $4,238,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $30.27 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.04, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.94.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 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. Shareholders 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 2.38%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on LUV shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

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.