Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Advisor Resource Council

Advisor Resource Council decreased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 34.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,660 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 5,166 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,926 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 17,383 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 64,743 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,889,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,055 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $28.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.37, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Melius reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.83.

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.