Quadrature Capital Ltd Sells 19,589 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Quadrature Capital Ltd reduced its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,895 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 19,589 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $5,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 374.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 82.8% in the fourth 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. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 3.0 %

LUV stock traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.23. 13,132,906 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,055,514. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $21.91 and a 1 year high of $35.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.20. The stock has a market cap of $16.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.07. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 0.41% and a return on equity of 5.92%. The company had revenue of $7.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.09 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 114.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LUV. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Monday, May 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $27.80 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.88.

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.