Integrated Investment Consultants LLC Buys New Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Integrated Investment Consultants LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,262 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,963,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,918 shares of the airline’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth about $259,000. Mendel Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. This trade represents a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $31.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $35.18. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.63.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is -1,028.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America started coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, November 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.78.

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.