Advisor Resource Council Sells 5,166 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Advisor Resource Council trimmed its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 34.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,660 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 5,166 shares during the quarter. Advisor Resource Council’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 378,428 shares of the airline’s stock worth $10,929,000 after purchasing an additional 103,834 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,990 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 14.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 506,762 shares of the airline’s stock worth $14,635,000 after purchasing an additional 124,054 shares during the period. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,790,654 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $311,634,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $28.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $39.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.37.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.27) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 price target on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.