TCW Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

TCW Group Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 254,750 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,592 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $8,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cowa LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $304,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 212,308 shares of the airline’s stock worth $7,138,000 after buying an additional 102,523 shares in the last quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $737,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 39.1% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 24,673 shares of the airline’s stock worth $830,000 after acquiring an additional 6,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on LUV. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Raymond James increased their target price 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. 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. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $29.80 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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%.

Southwest Airlines 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.