State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

State of Michigan Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 170,703 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $5,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Studio Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the airline’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,116 shares of the airline’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the airline’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the airline’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.72.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.4 %

LUV opened at $29.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.01, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.58 and a one year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.