Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,358 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,490 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 69,413 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035 shares in the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth about $366,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $223,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,625 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $285,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $31.36 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.23.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.36) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 84.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.88.

Insider Activity

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.