Silver Lake Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 16,018 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Silver Lake Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 16,018 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LUV. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 374.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 6,907,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,661,072. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $35.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.76. The stock has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a PE ratio of 41.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.31 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 research reports. Melius restated a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 10th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 price target for the company. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 price target (down previously from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.47.

About Southwest Airlines

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.