Crake Asset Management LLP Lowers Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Crake Asset Management LLP cut its Southwest Airlines stake by 57.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,866,885 shares and leaving it with 1,356,161 shares worth about $56.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on LUV remains mixed: analysts currently have an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $43.96, though Raymond James recently lifted its target to $55 and kept an outperform rating.
• Southwest reported Q1 earnings of $0.45 per share, matching expectations, but revenue of $7.25 billion fell short of estimates; the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, or $0.72 annualized.

Crake Asset Management LLP lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 57.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,356,161 shares of the airline's stock after selling 1,866,885 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines accounts for 2.2% of Crake Asset Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Crake Asset Management LLP owned 0.28% of Southwest Airlines worth $56,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,303,000 after buying an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,050,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline's stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline's stock valued at $9,979,000 after buying an additional 98,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $43.96.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $42.98 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.45%.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest's operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.