Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Increases Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1,052.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,153 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,619 shares during the period. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Motco grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 247.5% during the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $29.06 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $39.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $30.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.46.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.25. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.91% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The firm had revenue of $6.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.38) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group started coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.82.

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.