66,160 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Bought by Entropy Technologies LP

Key Points

• Entropy Technologies LP has acquired 66,160 shares of Southwest Airlines, valued at approximately $2.2 million, indicating growing interest from institutional investors, who now own 80.82% of the company's stock.
• Southwest Airlines reported a missed earnings per share of $0.43 for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.51, with revenue declining by 2.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a $2 billion share repurchase program, signaling confidence in its stock's value, along with a quarterly dividend of $0.18 to be paid to shareholders on September 24th.

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 66,160 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $2,222,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth $42,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 370.3% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,919 shares of the airline's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 22.1% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,029.32. The trade was 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 Stock Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $29.63 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.15 and a 200-day moving average of $31.17. The company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.06.

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.

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