Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Invests $155,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,602 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $155,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 increased 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday. Raymond James increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.52.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $34.84 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization 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. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.38.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.