6,618 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Purchased by Cary Street Partners Financial LLC

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,618 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,108,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline’s stock worth $475,092,000 after purchasing an additional 320,421 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $205,476,000 after purchasing an additional 372,313 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,897,564 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $164,656,000 after purchasing an additional 400,886 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $31.20 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 43.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.02.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on LUV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.43.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.