Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Penserra Capital Management LLC

Penserra Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 37.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,015 shares of the airline's stock after selling 10,039 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 24,545 shares of the airline's stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,859,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 43,506 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,463,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $40,541,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76,374 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,568,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the purchase, the director owned 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David P. Hess purchased 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $37.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,617,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,821,011. The company has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.58 and a 52 week high of $37.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $32.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 7.27%. Southwest Airlines's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.36) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 84.71%.

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.