Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $9.47 Million Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,997 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 3,655 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned about 0.06% of Southwest Airlines worth $9,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hedges Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 107,900 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,087,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 31.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 629,872 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $18,021,000 after buying an additional 151,314 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 20.4% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 407,175 shares of the airline’s stock worth $11,649,000 after purchasing an additional 68,922 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 13.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,246 shares of the airline’s stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silver Lake Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $458,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV traded up $0.02 on Wednesday, reaching $26.54. 2,047,543 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,627,741. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.90 billion, a PE ratio of 42.10, a PEG ratio of 23.93 and a beta of 1.15. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $35.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given 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 2.71%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 114.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LUV. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. HSBC began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $28.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.38.

About Southwest Airlines

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.