Edgestream Partners L.P. Buys 11,835 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 22.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 63,763 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,835 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $29.20 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.44 and a 200 day moving average of $31.17. The company has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

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.