Assetmark Inc. Has $35,000 Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 98.4%, selling over 65,000 shares and now owning only 1,053 shares valued at $35,000.
• Several institutional investors, including O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC and Huntington National Bank, increased their stakes in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter, indicating varying confidence among investors.
• Despite missing quarterly earnings estimates, Southwest Airlines announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share and initiated a $2 billion stock repurchase plan, signaling its belief that the stock is undervalued.

Assetmark Inc. cut its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 98.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,053 shares of the airline's stock after selling 65,134 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 370.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,919 shares of the airline's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 22.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 35.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the airline's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the period. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the airline's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.70. 8,834,974 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,034,015. The company has a market cap of $15.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.99, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 1.26. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $37.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $33.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.24.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. 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 109.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup cut their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.