Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Sells 9,573 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC has reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines by 3.0%, selling 9,573 shares and now holds approximately 304,700 shares valued at $9.88 million.
• Analyst ratings reflect a mixed sentiment towards Southwest Airlines, with price targets raised by firms like JPMorgan and Barclays, while some analysts have downgraded the stock from "hold" to "reduce".
• Southwest Airlines recently announced a $2.00 billion stock buyback program and a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, representing a yield of 2.1% with a high dividend payout ratio of 109.09%.

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,700 shares of the airline's stock after selling 9,573 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Southwest Airlines worth $9,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,258,993 shares of the airline's stock worth $40,842,000 after buying an additional 18,270 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $530,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 10.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,625 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,137,000 after buying an additional 5,981 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 4.5% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 548,423 shares of the airline's stock worth $17,791,000 after buying an additional 23,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $313,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their price target 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. HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.59 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $32.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.46. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $37.96. The firm has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 50.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

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

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.

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