abrdn plc Grows Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,113 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,661 shares of the airline’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $30.98 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 43.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.55.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued 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 analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend 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 the company’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.08.

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.