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

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 158,955 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $6,619,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 109.4% in the 2nd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 871 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. Zacks Research cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $58.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $44.39 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.52. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $30.84 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 3.34% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.11 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines 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.