Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 158,955 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 158,955 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $6,619,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 109.4% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 871 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LUV. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $35.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, October 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $44.39 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.07 and a 200 day moving average of $43.52. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.23. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $30.84 and a 1-year high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.11 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company provides scheduled air transportation for leisure and business travelers, with service connecting cities throughout the United States and selected destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Southwest is known for its predominantly domestic network and point-to-point operating model. In addition to passenger flights, the company offers ancillary services and air cargo transportation.