Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 1,150 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,927 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 1,150 shares during the quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline’s stock worth $95,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,641,564 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,262,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,724,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,541,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $28.89 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.12, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.60. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LUV. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.43.

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.