IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $664,000 Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 26.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,765 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,120 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3,538.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 326,129 shares of the airline’s stock worth $10,951,000 after acquiring an additional 317,166 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,625 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,137,000 after acquiring an additional 5,981 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,625 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 25.1% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 55,691 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after buying an additional 11,173 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $31.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $37.96. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.74 and its 200-day moving average is $31.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.02, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 109.09%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. This represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.