New York Life Investment Management LLC Acquires 716 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,680 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after buying an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline’s stock worth $100,080,000 after buying an additional 46,110 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $73,636,000 after acquiring an additional 133,366 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.78.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.4 %

LUV opened at $31.07 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a PE ratio of 43.15, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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, 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 analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. 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.