Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC cut its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 48.7% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,260 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 16,413 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,475,988 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,544,387,000 after purchasing an additional 9,444,279 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 6,210,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $179,355,000 after buying an additional 1,238,468 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $29,789,000. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $24,404,000. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,193,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of LUV traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $28.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,914,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,141,913. The company’s 50 day moving average is $27.73 and its 200 day moving average is $29.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 44.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $39.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.95 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.