Forum Financial Management LP Raises Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,998 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 370.3% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,919 shares of the airline’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $36.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.25. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $406,102.49. This represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was purchased at an average price of $26.52 per share, with a total value of $198,900.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,156 shares in the company, valued at $614,097.12. The trade was a 47.90% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LUV. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “in-line” rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Melius raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.13.

Southwest Airlines 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.