Prudential PLC Acquires New Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Prudential PLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,298 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,569,773 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,972,362,000 after buying an additional 2,148,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 14.9% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,422,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,792,914,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946,199 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,790,654 shares of the airline’s stock worth $311,634,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 2,468,983 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $71,304,000 after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,107,507 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $31,686,000 after purchasing an additional 14,017 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 $28.68 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $27.36 and its 200-day moving average is $28.23. 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 has a market capitalization of $17.16 billion, a PE ratio of 45.52, a PEG ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $21.91 and a 1-year high of $35.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LUV. Evercore ISI raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Melius reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.38.

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.