CoreFirst Bank & Trust Acquires Shares of 4,957 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 4,957 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $167,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,262,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,541,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after purchasing an additional 426,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LUV shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down previously 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 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.2 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $34.91 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.43.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Southwest Airlines 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.