Amundi Lowers Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Amundi lessened its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 93.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 546,655 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 7,835,177 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $18,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 81.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,056 shares of the airline’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the period. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 67.8% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV opened at $39.73 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $39.85. The stock has a market cap of $20.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.88.

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.