Oldfield Partners LLP Sells 543,000 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Oldfield Partners LLP trimmed its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 22.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,895,100 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 543,000 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines accounts for approximately 10.2% of Oldfield Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Oldfield Partners LLP owned 0.32% of Southwest Airlines worth $54,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 179.5% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LUV. Citigroup lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $28.25 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Melius reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $28.68 on Monday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $27.36 and a 200-day moving average of $28.14. The company has a market cap of $17.18 billion, a PE ratio of 45.52, a P/E/G ratio of 27.22 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $21.91 and a one year high of $35.18.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 0.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 114.29%.

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.