Nkcfo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 82,900 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $2,787,000. Southwest Airlines comprises 1.2% of Nkcfo LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline's stock valued at $7,645,000 after buying an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline's stock valued at $89,068,000 after buying an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth about $2,963,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $614,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "sell" rating and issued a $29.50 price target (down previously from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.78.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Southwest Airlines

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $30.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.44 and a 200 day moving average of $30.63. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a PE ratio of 41.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 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, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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