Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Makes New Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,100 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. RWA Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $1,652,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings 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 valued at $40,842,000 after purchasing an additional 18,270 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 8.3% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $530,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised 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 buying an additional 23,381 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 50.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $37.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted 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 business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LUV. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.80.

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.