Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 1,770 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,254 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,770 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 21.0% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,694 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $867,000 after purchasing an additional 5,163 shares during the last quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at $247,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 111.2% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 172,792 shares of the airline’s stock worth $5,254,000 after acquiring an additional 90,983 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $726,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LUV shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC started coverage on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, May 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $27.80 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.50 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $20.00 in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.36.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $27.53 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.91 and a fifty-two week high of $39.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.80 and a 200 day moving average of $29.28. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.70, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.15.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The airline reported ($0.36) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by ($0.02). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.59% and a return on equity of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $6.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.27) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 19th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 114.29%.

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.