5,588 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Acquired by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,588 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $188,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,541,000. LBP AM SA bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $8,973,000. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth about $4,728,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of LUV opened at $31.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.08, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $31.12 and a 200 day moving average of $31.24.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.72.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.