First Dallas Securities Inc. Has $497,000 Stock Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

First Dallas Securities Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,025 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,550 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 378,428 shares of the airline’s stock worth $10,929,000 after buying an additional 103,834 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 104,990 shares of the airline’s stock worth $3,065,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,680 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 506,762 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $14,635,000 after purchasing an additional 124,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 10,790,654 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $311,634,000 after purchasing an additional 47,119 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE:LUV traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.61. The stock had a trading volume of 10,740,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,707,550. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $21.91 and a 12 month high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.27) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna cut 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 note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Melius reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.83.

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.