Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) is Elliott Investment Management L.P.'s 2nd Largest Position

Elliott Investment Management L.P. lowered its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,666,500 shares of the airline's stock after selling 1,450,000 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines makes up 12.0% of Elliott Investment Management L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Elliott Investment Management L.P. owned about 9.95% of Southwest Airlines worth $2,005,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,896,150 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,641,564 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,262,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,724,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,541,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Melius Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $30.43.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE LUV traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $31.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,152,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,997,529. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.58 and a 52-week 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. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $29.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.03. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.33, a PEG 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.36) EPS. The business's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.