Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,107 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 667,731 shares of the airline's stock after selling 10,107 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Southwest Airlines worth $22,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LUV. CWC Advisors LLC. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 22.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,853 shares of the airline's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,101 shares of the airline's stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 34,189 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.36. The stock had a trading volume of 23,736,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,322,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.77. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $37.83. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $32.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.12. The stock has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.95, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 1.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.98%. The company's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.36) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.93%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.81.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the 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 purchase, the director directly owned 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

About Southwest Airlines

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.