Rep. Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. Buys Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares

Representative Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-California) recently bought shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV). In a filing disclosed on February 11th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $1,001 and $15,000 in Southwest Airlines stock on January 24th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “150 MAIN STREET TRUST > BANK OF AMERICA” account.

Representative Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ICF International (NASDAQ:ICFI) on 2/3/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of CACI International (NYSE:CACI) on 1/31/2025.
• Purchased $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE) on 1/31/2025.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) on 1/30/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) on 1/30/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Agios Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AGIO) on 1/29/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of SpringWorks Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SWTX) on 1/29/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Paragon 28 (NYSE:FNA) on 1/29/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) on 1/29/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) on 1/29/2025.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV traded down $0.12 on Thursday, reaching $29.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,028,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,128,818. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. 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 (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on LUV shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Representative Cisneros

Gil Cisneros (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing California’s 31st Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Cisneros (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent California’s 31st Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Gil Cisneros served in the U.S. Navy as a supply officer from 1994 to 2004. Cisneros earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from George Washington University in 1994, a master’s in business administration from Regis University in 2002, and a master’s degree in urban education policy from Brown University in 2015. His career experience includes working as a logistics manager for Frito-Lay. In 2010, Cisneros won the lottery and became involved in activism and philanthropy, founding a scholarship program for local high school students. In 2021, President Joe Biden (D) appointed Cisneros as under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

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.