Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Raises Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,026 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,541,000. LBP AM SA bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,973,000. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,728,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:LUV opened at $34.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.48. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.75, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company 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. Barclays increased their price target 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. UBS Group raised shares of 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 research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.52.

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.