Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 21,805 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 689,199 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 21,805 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Southwest Airlines worth $20,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Clearbridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $609,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 100,351 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,931,000 after buying an additional 20,694 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 493,954 shares of the airline's stock worth $14,419,000 after buying an additional 64,284 shares during the last quarter. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at approximately $764,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at approximately $592,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director Rakesh Gangwal acquired 643,788 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at $108,117,203.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 59,912,580 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $29.00 target price (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $30.96.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $32.40. 3,750,226 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,265,131. The company has a market capitalization of $19.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -462.57, a PEG ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $35.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $30.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

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.