Primecap Management Co. CA Reduces Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Primecap Management Co. CA cut its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,908,845 shares of the airline's stock after selling 344,483 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines comprises 1.0% of Primecap Management Co. CA's holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 8.33% of Southwest Airlines worth $1,427,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 177.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 117,042 shares of the airline's stock valued at $3,349,000 after purchasing an additional 74,891 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,828,166 shares of the airline's stock valued at $166,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,496 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 8,781 shares of the airline's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 55,730 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.44. 7,209,009 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,537,209. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $27.39 and a 200 day moving average of $28.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 45.30, a PEG ratio of 27.22 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $35.18.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 114.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LUV. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $30.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen cut 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 issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $29.00 price objective (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Four equities 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.