Bellwether Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 36,076 Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 36,076 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $172,038,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 2,468.4% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,752,352 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $155,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,606,255 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $143,450,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,661,488,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626,853 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $55,320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $58.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $48.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $28.98 and a 1-year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. Research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 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.