Handelsbanken Fonder AB Boosts Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 93.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 212,308 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 102,523 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $7,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,728,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,238,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $29.80 on Friday. 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.82. The stock has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

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.