Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Decreases Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 314,273 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 4,341 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Southwest Airlines worth $10,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,642 shares of the airline’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.6%

LUV opened at $31.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.08. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.10, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.23.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 7.27%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.36) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David P. Hess bought 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LUV. Melius Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $28.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.88.

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.