Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 296,346 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BNP Paribas upgraded Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Melius reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $29.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $35.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.87, a P/E/G ratio of 27.03 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

About Southwest Airlines

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.