Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 2,411 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 14.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,733 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 2,411 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth $736,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 409,653 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $13,756,000 after purchasing an additional 61,827 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 68.9% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 142,909 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 58,283 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,235 shares of the airline’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the airline’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 4.2%

LUV opened at $33.34 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $17.24 billion, a PE ratio of 51.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.12 and a 200 day moving average of $32.24.

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

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $33.38.

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.