TRUE Private Wealth Advisors Boosts Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,383 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Motco boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 151.0% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 247.5% during the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $28.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.37, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $39.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.46.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.25. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $6.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.38) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 96.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.82.

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.