Academy Capital Management Invests $219,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Academy Capital Management 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 6,521 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Studio Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised 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 last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of LUV opened at $29.44 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.88, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.72 and a 200-day moving average of $31.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 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 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 directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LUV. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.72.

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.