SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Invests $108,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,215 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $108,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.9% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,831 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after acquiring an additional 16,293 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $89,068,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,857 shares during the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,963,000. Vista Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $614,000. Finally, Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.6% during the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 99,407 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,945,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $29.50 target price (down from $31.50) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $29.20 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.55, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

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.