Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by Arkadios Wealth Advisors

Arkadios Wealth Advisors lowered its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 45.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,361 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 6,207 shares during the quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $31.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $37.96. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.38.

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.