Rothschild Investment LLC Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,125 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $61,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $29.51 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $35.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 46.84, a PEG ratio of 27.27 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.42.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $28.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.38.

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.