Smith Anglin Financial LLC Has $4.57 Million Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Smith Anglin Financial LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,834 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,323 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines comprises about 0.4% of Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Smith Anglin Financial LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 67.8% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV opened at $32.52 on Monday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $37.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.19.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. HSBC downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.38.

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.