Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 2,959,857 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,006,000 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned about 0.50% of Southwest Airlines worth $89,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Rakesh Gangwal acquired 643,788 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. This represents a 21.73 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.60. The company had a trading volume of 6,251,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,262,869. The company's 50-day moving average is $30.29 and its 200-day moving average is $28.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $19.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -465.79, a P/E/G ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $35.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LUV. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Southwest Airlines to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.78.

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.