Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stock Position Lessened by Oldfield Partners LLP

Oldfield Partners LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 22.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,895,100 shares of the airline's stock after selling 543,000 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines accounts for about 10.2% of Oldfield Partners LLP's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Oldfield Partners LLP owned about 0.32% of Southwest Airlines worth $54,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LUV. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 53,475,988 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,544,387,000 after acquiring an additional 9,444,279 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,789,000. Nuance Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,573,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,071,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised Southwest Airlines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $29.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Melius reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $28.25 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Four equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.38.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $28.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,333,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,550,207. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $35.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 45.30, a P/E/G ratio of 27.22 and a beta of 1.16. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $27.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

About Southwest Airlines

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.