Assetmark Inc. Has $35,000 Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Assetmark Inc. decreased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 98.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,053 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 65,134 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $35,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,744 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,321 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,497 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $691,000 after purchasing an additional 3,603 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $1,675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $24.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.75.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $29.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.42 and a 200-day moving average of $31.25. The company has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 45.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.