Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Major Shareholder Sells $35,912,933.60 in Stock

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $30.60 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $22.44 and a one year high of $35.18. The stock has a market cap of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of -437.14, a P/E/G ratio of 9.76 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on LUV shares. Evercore ISI raised Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwest Airlines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,055 shares of the airline’s stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,390 shares of the airline’s stock worth $712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 64,743 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,717.4% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 272,398 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $7,951,000 after purchasing an additional 257,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth $210,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Southwest Airlines

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.