Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 71,590 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $2,121,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, AM Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $32.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded Southwest Airlines to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $28.25 to $31.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.96.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,912,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,787,192,261.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rakesh Gangwal acquired 643,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 3,606,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,117,203.78. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $32.03 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $22.58 and a one year high of $35.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.30.

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

Southwest Airlines Company 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.