Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Decreases Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Sound Shore Management cut its Southwest Airlines stake by 20.6% in the first quarter, selling 518,720 shares and leaving it with about 2.0 million shares worth roughly $75.2 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on LUV, with some increasing positions while hedge funds and other institutions still own a large majority of the company at 80.82% of shares outstanding.
• Analysts remain divided but generally cautious: Southwest has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.58, even as several firms recently raised targets and one major broker kept an underperform rating.

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT reduced its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,001,977 shares of the airline's stock after selling 518,720 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines accounts for about 2.5% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT's portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned approximately 0.41% of Southwest Airlines worth $75,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 19,729 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline's stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. Evercore increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $48.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $45.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.12. The stock has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The company's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 46.45%.

Southwest Airlines Profile

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.

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