Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,188,348 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 111,190 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.53% of Southwest Airlines worth $92,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 106.5% in the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,556,536 shares of the airline's stock valued at $69,205,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318,361 shares during the last quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 6,210,347 shares of the airline's stock valued at $179,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,468 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter worth about $13,193,000. Provident Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 7,599,210 shares of the airline's stock worth $219,465,000 after purchasing an additional 460,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 34.9% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,619,499 shares of the airline's stock worth $43,840,000 after purchasing an additional 418,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, reaching $27.97. 9,524,385 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,003,188. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $39.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $28.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.70. The firm has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday. They set a "hold" rating and a $27.80 price target on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $30.10.

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.