Provident Trust Co. Boosts Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Provident Trust Co. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,599,210 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 460,480 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines accounts for approximately 4.5% of Provident Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Provident Trust Co. owned 1.27% of Southwest Airlines worth $219,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Motco increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares in the last quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,115 shares of the airline's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth about $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "inline" rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $27.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Four 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, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.18.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV traded down $0.23 on Friday, hitting $27.03. 16,106,007 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,102,757. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.34 and its 200 day moving average is $28.55. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $21.91 and a 52 week high of $39.53. The company has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 42.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.27) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.29%.

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.