Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4,277.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,400 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,500 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $31.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.62. The stock has a market cap of $18.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12.

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, topping 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, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $36.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.32.

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.