Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $20.57 Million Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 547,600 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 21,359 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $20,573,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 73.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 47.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $9,979,000 after purchasing an additional 98,986 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $48.66 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $45.61 and a 200-day moving average of $44.22.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The business had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 46.45%.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.