Kercheville Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Free Report) by 30.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,174 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 39,350 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines comprises approximately 1.1% of Kercheville Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Kercheville Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $3,388,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SHP Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LUV. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. HSBC raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $54.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.95.
Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.7%
Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $49.38 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The company has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.92.
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.45%.
Southwest Airlines Profile
Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.
Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
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