Curio Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Free Report) by 70,800.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,127 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,124 shares during the period. Curio Wealth LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $69,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at approximately $56,244,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,433,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.6% in the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 49,688,308 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,668,533,000 after buying an additional 788,255 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,163,000. Finally, Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,432,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $32.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $37.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.37 and its 200-day moving average is $31.65.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.09%.

Several analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.38.

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.

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