Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,312 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,384 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 374.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in 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 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 stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.23. The stock had a trading volume of 13,132,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,055,514. The firm has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $35.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LUV. Melius reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.54.

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.