Nuance Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 754,036 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 754,036 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $21,573,000. Nuance Investments LLC owned 0.13% of Southwest Airlines as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 179.5% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $29.00 target price (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Melius reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.38.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:LUV traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,964,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,579,663. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $21.91 and a twelve month high of $35.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $27.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.52, a P/E/G ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.16.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. Southwest Airlines's revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Southwest Airlines 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.