Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Invests $497,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,366 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LUV. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 64,743 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 8,055 shares of the airline's stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.4% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the airline's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 51,395 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 42.6% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,412 shares of the airline's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE:LUV traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.25. 7,290,348 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,616,519. The firm's fifty day moving average is $27.30 and its 200-day moving average is $28.29. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $35.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.19, a P/E/G ratio of 28.01 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Southwest Airlines's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 114.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Melius restated a "sell" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, June 10th. HSBC assumed coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $27.80 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Southwest Airlines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.