International Assets Investment Management LLC Purchases 111,394 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2,299.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,238 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,394 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $3,444,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,569,773 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,972,362,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 14.9% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,422,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,792,914,000 after buying an additional 7,946,199 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 21.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,828,166 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $166,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,496 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,551,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 629.5% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,590,298 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,305 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.61 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.21. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $22.44 and a twelve month high of $35.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -437.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.