Pendal Group Ltd Increases Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 29th, 2023

Pendal Group Ltd boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) by 80.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,793 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,036 shares during the period. Pendal Group Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,378,877 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,205,645,000 after buying an additional 4,992,817 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 382.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,729,729 shares of the airline’s stock worth $98,599,000 after buying an additional 2,163,492 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,028,745 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,886,717,000 after buying an additional 1,213,767 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,869,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,248,280 shares of the airline’s stock worth $38,497,000 after buying an additional 513,580 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.6 %

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.06. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.95 and a 12 month high of $50.10. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by ($0.35). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.71% and a net margin of 2.26%. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 8th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 7th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Redburn Partners lowered Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 9th. Barclays lowered Southwest Airlines from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $41.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.07.

Southwest Airlines Profile

(Get Rating)

Southwest Airlines Co engages in the operation and management of a passenger airline. The firm also offers ancillary services such as early bird check-in, upgraded boarding, and transportation of pets and unaccompanied minors. It operates in the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.