Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Bought by Oldfield Partners LLP

Oldfield Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,011,000 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines comprises about 11.3% of Oldfield Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Oldfield Partners LLP’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $32,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,258,993 shares of the airline’s stock worth $40,842,000 after buying an additional 18,270 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,218 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after acquiring an additional 9,739 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $530,000. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 548,423 shares of the airline’s stock worth $17,791,000 after acquiring an additional 23,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $313,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.05. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The company has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, HSBC downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $33.38.

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.