50,500 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Acquired by Neo Ivy Capital Management

Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 50,500 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $1,496,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 33.7% during the 3rd quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline's stock valued at $7,645,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $609,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during 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 bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,963,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,751,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.68. The company had a trading volume of 3,529,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,085,752. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $31.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -484.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.16. 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 (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Southwest Airlines's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is -1,028.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.98 per share, with a total value of $19,300,764.24. Following the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Susquehanna upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.84.

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.