Larson Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Larson Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 54.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,719 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 4,526 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $109,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,926 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 17,383 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted 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 valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,055 shares of the airline’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Susquehanna dropped 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.31.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,547,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,182,948. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $39.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.27) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.