CIBC Asset Management Inc Buys 7,119 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 107,284 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,119 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $3,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,028,745 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,886,717,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,767 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 17.6% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,378,877 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,205,645,000 after buying an additional 4,992,817 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.2% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,854,746 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $222,347,000 after buying an additional 104,191 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,861,289 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $131,047,000 after buying an additional 84,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 382.1% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,729,729 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $98,599,000 after buying an additional 2,163,492 shares during the last quarter. 74.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $36.68 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $30.20 and a 12 month high of $50.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 27th. The airline reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.09. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm had revenue of $6.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.23) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 10th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 9th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 56.25%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director John T. Montford sold 2,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.87, for a total value of $87,457.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $818,058.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, December 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 9th. Susquehanna lowered Southwest Airlines from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $62.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.50.

Southwest Airlines Profile

(Get Rating)

Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated a total fleet of 728 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as 10 near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.