Godsey & Gibb Inc. Reduces Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Godsey & Gibb Inc. lessened its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 35.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,356 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 32,978,869 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,108,750,000 after buying an additional 2,896,150 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,152,996 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $475,092,000 after buying an additional 320,421 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,111,634 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $205,476,000 after buying an additional 372,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $202,219,000 after buying an additional 2,391,495 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $33.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.16. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced 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 business 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 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.36) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David P. Hess acquired 7,500 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.52 per share, for a total transaction of $198,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 16,670 shares of company stock worth $464,944. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.