Aberdeen Group plc Buys 22,100 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 13.6%, acquiring an additional 22,100 shares, bringing its total holdings to 184,045 shares valued at approximately $5.97 million.
• Major analysts have mixed ratings on Southwest Airlines, with five analysts giving a Buy rating, ten a Hold rating, and four a Sell rating, resulting in an average price target of $33.38.
• Southwest Airlines recently announced a $2.00 billion stock repurchase program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,045 shares of the airline's stock after purchasing an additional 22,100 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $5,970,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of LUV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth $56,244,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $50,433,000. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 49,688,308 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,668,533,000 after acquiring an additional 788,255 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $18,163,000. Finally, Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $13,432,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.38.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. 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 Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.33 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $37.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.50, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.43. 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 (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines announced 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 purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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