Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 26.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 347,826 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 72,281 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $11,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after buying an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,503 shares of the airline’s stock worth $555,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $608,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $24.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.94. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.32. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America restated 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.88.

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.