Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,291 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $592,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% during the 1st 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. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 14.9% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,422,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,792,914,000 after buying an additional 7,946,199 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,790,654 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $311,634,000 after acquiring an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. Provident Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 7,599,210 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $219,465,000 after acquiring an additional 460,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,188,348 shares of the airline’s stock worth $92,079,000 after acquiring an additional 111,190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $1.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $25.05. 16,898,872 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,730,343. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $27.69 and its 200 day moving average is $29.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.76, a P/E/G ratio of 16.32 and a beta of 1.15. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

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.