American International Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

American International Group Inc. reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,303 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,296 shares during the period. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 374.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Pacific Center for Financial Services raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services now owns 2,000 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.83.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $28.36 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

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.