Kentucky Retirement Systems Decreases Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,312 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,384 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,323,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 32.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 506,762 shares of the airline’s stock worth $14,635,000 after acquiring an additional 124,054 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,236 shares of the airline’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Compton Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Country Club Bank GFN boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 140,774 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,136,000 after acquiring an additional 31,641 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.23. The company had a trading volume of 13,132,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,055,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $35.18. The company has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $29.19.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The business had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 114.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LUV. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.54.

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.