Sowell Financial Services LLC Increases Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 70.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,504 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 7,637 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 8.6 %

LUV stock opened at $30.60 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 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.