Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Takes $530,000 Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Contravisory Investment Management Inc. invested approximately $530,000 in Southwest Airlines, acquiring 16,336 shares in the 2nd quarter.
• Southwest Airlines recently had a quarterly dividend of $0.18 announced, with a yield of 2.2%, and a share repurchase plan of up to $2 billion authorized.
• Wall Street analysts have shown varying ratings on Southwest Airlines, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $33.38 per share.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,336 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake 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 worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 122.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,787 shares of the airline's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 22.1% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. HSBC downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna raised 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of LUV stock traded down $0.37 on Monday, reaching $32.15. 3,910,299 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,316,149. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50 day moving average price is $32.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.42.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $427,012.29. The trade was a 11.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly 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. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.