International Assets Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2,207.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,797 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 143,304 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Motco increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 247.5% during the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of LUV opened at $28.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.40, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.46. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.75 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.38) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 96.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Evercore ISI reissued an “inline” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.82.

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.