Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,900 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 374.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on LUV shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $28.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Melius reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.38.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $28.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.52, a PEG ratio of 24.83 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $35.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.29%.

Southwest Airlines 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.