PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,359 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 491 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 374.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LUV. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 price target on the stock. Melius restated a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.83.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $28.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $27.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.39. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $39.53. The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.27) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

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.