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

Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 57,092 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,919,000. Southwest Airlines makes up approximately 1.7% of Hershey Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in 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 during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $34.84 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.39. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $20.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.39, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LUV. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised 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. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.