California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 15,316 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 785,399 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 15,316 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $29,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LUV. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline’s stock worth $9,979,000 after purchasing an additional 98,986 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $48.66 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap 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 (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.58.

Southwest Airlines Profile

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.