RWA Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $1.65 Million Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 50,913 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,000.

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

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $32.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $37.96.

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

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $33.38.

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.