Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 2,896,150 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 32,978,869 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.05% of Southwest Airlines worth $1,108,750,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in 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 during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. UBS Group raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.54.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0 %

LUV stock opened at $33.58 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.56. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 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.