Lynx Investment Advisory Acquires Shares of 3,421 Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,421 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 374.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 82.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,370,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,562,155. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.06. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $35.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 15.50 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 114.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LUV. HSBC initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 price objective for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (down from $32.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.39.

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.