Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC Increases Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 118.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 599,350 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 325,000 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Southwest Airlines worth $20,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 106,398 shares of the airline's stock valued at $3,577,000 after purchasing an additional 7,067 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 179.3% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 142,813 shares of the airline's stock valued at $4,801,000 after buying an additional 91,689 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 63,019 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,119,000 after buying an additional 4,858 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 47.0% during the 4th quarter. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 48,500 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 15,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This represents a 47.90 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944 over the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $30.07 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $29.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.76, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.36) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 84.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on LUV shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $30.43.

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.

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