Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. Acquires New Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,623 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896,150 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline's stock valued at $95,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,641,564 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,262,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $57,724,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,541,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $31.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $29.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.02. The company has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.36) EPS. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,102.49. This represents a 32.74 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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