EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 32.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,298 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Studio Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on LUV. UBS Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.02.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $32.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a PE ratio of 45.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

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.