Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Purchased by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,993 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 1,929 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 82.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 914 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Motco grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the period. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 2,115 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $26.14 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $15.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.49, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $29.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.54. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $21.91 and a 12-month high of $39.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 1.59%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.27) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.07 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LUV. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.59.

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.