California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 9,105 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,299 shares of the airline's stock after selling 9,105 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $7,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 10,551 shares of the airline's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 11,644 shares of the airline's stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 51,445 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 6,843 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $311,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 9,375 shares of the airline's stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $32.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,416,441 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,232,567. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $29.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12. The company has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.09, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.36) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 84.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on LUV. Susquehanna cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.53.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 now owns 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.