Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,690 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after purchasing an additional 9,504,201 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after buying an additional 3,111,946 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at about $4,728,000. Finally, Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 price objective (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.78.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.59. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 5.77%. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.