BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. Boosts Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,500 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 15,500 shares during the period. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,135 shares of the airline's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,853 shares of the airline's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on LUV. UBS Group cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,138,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,976,987. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $36.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a PE ratio of 42.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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. The trade was a 47.90 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.