ACT Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• ACT Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co., purchasing 14,715 shares valued at approximately $477,000, which makes it the firm's 28th largest position.
• Southwest Airlines has been experiencing mixed analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $33.38, while shares recently opened at $31.41.
• The airline announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share and a $2 billion share repurchase program, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued.

ACT Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 14,715 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $477,000. Southwest Airlines comprises approximately 0.2% of ACT Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. CWC Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline's stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 16,301 shares of the airline's stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76,719 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,590 shares of the airline's stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LUV. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $31.41 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $32.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.59, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.19.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.08). Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%.The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 represents a 11.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.