Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 608.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.60% of Southwest Airlines worth $107,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. Olstein Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 33.7% in the third quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 258,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $7,645,000 after purchasing an additional 65,000 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $609,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares in the last quarter. Highland Peak Capital LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter valued at $2,963,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Rakesh Gangwal purchased 643,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $29.98 per share, for a total transaction of $19,300,764.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,606,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,117,203.78. This represents a 21.73 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 1.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.00 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $35.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $30.94 and its 200 day moving average is $28.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.79 billion, a P/E ratio of -471.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.56 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Southwest Airlines had a negative net margin of 0.06% and a positive return on equity of 4.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 26th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently -1,028.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.25.

About Southwest Airlines

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.