D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $1.78 Million Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 533.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,869 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 44,517 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the fourth 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. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $33,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% during 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 during the period. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.3% during the third quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the airline’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 120.9% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the airline’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $29.80 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.82. The company has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict 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 given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on LUV shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.78.

Insider Activity

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

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.