Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,160 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 47,933 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $5,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.6% during the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 49,688,308 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,668,533,000 after purchasing an additional 788,255 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,763,935 shares of the airline’s stock worth $349,182,000 after purchasing an additional 98,290 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,602,939 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $120,987,000 after purchasing an additional 136,410 shares in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,244,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $50,433,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $33.30 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $32.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.22 billion, a PE ratio of 51.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 110.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.80.

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.