Kiltearn Partners LLP Sells 73,300 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Kiltearn Partners LLP reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 892,083 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 73,300 shares during the quarter. Southwest Airlines comprises about 5.8% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Kiltearn Partners LLP owned 0.17% of Southwest Airlines worth $28,939,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 49,688,308 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,668,533,000 after buying an additional 788,255 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 0.9% in the second 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. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 3.9% during 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 during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,244,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,433,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.80.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.1%

NYSE:LUV opened at $35.07 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.49. The stock has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.95, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business 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, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.77%.

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.