Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $826,000 Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 27,861 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline's stock worth $7,645,000 after acquiring an additional 65,000 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $609,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline's stock valued at $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $2,963,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $1,751,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.0 %

LUV stock traded down $0.34 during trading on Thursday, hitting $33.24. The company had a trading volume of 5,285,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,089,826. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.62 and a 200-day moving average of $29.15. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of -479.43, a PEG ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is -1,028.57%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This represents a 4.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal bought 643,788 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at $108,117,203.78. This represents a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LUV. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.37.

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.