57,092 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Acquired by Hershey Financial Advisers LLC

Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 57,092 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,919,000. Southwest Airlines comprises approximately 1.7% of Hershey Financial Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $34.84 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.39, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

About Southwest Airlines

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.