Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by City State Bank

City State Bank lessened its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 34.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,155 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. City State Bank’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $37,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $33.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $32.16 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $37.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.70.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 110.77%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines 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.