Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by U S Global Investors Inc.

U S Global Investors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 22.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,664,510 shares of the airline's stock after selling 793,151 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines comprises about 11.8% of U S Global Investors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. U S Global Investors Inc. owned 0.46% of Southwest Airlines worth $89,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 10.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,625 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the airline's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Hedges Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC now owns 142,700 shares of the airline's stock valued at $4,792,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 195.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,634 shares of the airline's stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 3,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 18.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 9,491 shares of the airline's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 1,448 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.71 on Friday, hitting $32.23. 21,618,943 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,274,485. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.08. The company has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a PE ratio of 37.92, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.23.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 7.27% and a net margin of 1.98%. The business's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.36) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 84.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $614,097.12. This trade represents a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LUV. Citigroup lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.88.

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.