36,733 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Bought by Boothbay Fund Management LLC

Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,733 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $26.65 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $29.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.09. The firm has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.36) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 84.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.