Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Has $269,000 Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 66.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,023 shares of the airline's stock after selling 16,088 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after acquiring an additional 2,896,150 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1,327.7% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,840,529 shares of the airline's stock valued at $95,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,641,564 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline's stock valued at $202,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,391,495 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,724,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,541,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE LUV traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.21. 16,998,292 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,482,312. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.31, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.33.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,102.49. This represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines 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.