Venturi Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,450 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,728,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,238,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. The trade was a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $29.80 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.82. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, 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.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

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.