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

International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2,207.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 149,797 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 143,304 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.0% in the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,067 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.6% in the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,639 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 50,213 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,926 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the period. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 8,166 shares of the airline’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $28.05 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $39.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a PE ratio of 37.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.46.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $20.00 to $28.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “inline” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James increased their target price 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. Argus upgraded 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.82.

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.