Hsbc Holdings PLC Reduces Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 45.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 702,183 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 594,241 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.12% of Southwest Airlines worth $20,087,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,569,773 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,972,362,000 after purchasing an additional 2,148,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,422,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,792,914,000 after buying an additional 7,946,199 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,790,654 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $311,634,000 after buying an additional 47,119 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 21.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,828,166 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $166,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 2,468,983 shares of the airline’s stock worth $71,304,000 after acquiring an additional 12,000 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $29.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $27.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.99. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $35.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 46.10, a P/E/G ratio of 26.91 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Melius reissued a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.38.

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.