Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,621 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during 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 last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on LUV shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.02.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value 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 represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $32.40 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.29. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.00, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.