Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Stock Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 10.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,499 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 11,967 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,226,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,509,179,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,538,382,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock worth $216,472,000 after buying an additional 117,833 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth $234,872,000. Finally, U S Global Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.9% during the third quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 2,260,841 shares of the airline’s stock worth $94,141,000 after buying an additional 275,204 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 4.4%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $44.39 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.23. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $30.84 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.07 and its 200 day moving average is $43.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The airline reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.09. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.34%. The business had revenue of $8.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Tigress Financial began coverage on Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, October 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.20.

Southwest Airlines Company Profile

Southwest Airlines Co is a major U.S. passenger airline headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company provides scheduled air transportation for leisure and business travelers, with service connecting cities throughout the United States and selected destinations in Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Southwest is known for its predominantly domestic network and point-to-point operating model. In addition to passenger flights, the company offers ancillary services and air cargo transportation.