Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC

ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 68.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,486 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 15,884 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 374.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 858 shares of the airline’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Motco increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 151.0% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 1,187 shares of the airline’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Five equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.59.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.15. 10,950,392 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,011,715. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $21.91 and a 12 month high of $39.53. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.16.

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

About Southwest Airlines

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.