Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Increases Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 145.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 212,119 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 125,865 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $6,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of LUV opened at $32.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.75. The firm has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.38% and a return on equity of 6.39%. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 110.77%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $33.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.