Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,024 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 3,581 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 247.5% in the first quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Pacific Center for Financial Services bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:LUV opened at $29.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.48. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $39.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The airline reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.75 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 9.40% and a net margin of 1.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.38) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.45%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LUV. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $20.00 to $28.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI reissued an “inline” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.82.

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.