Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC has acquired a new stake of 9,383 shares in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV), valued at approximately $304,000.
• Southwest Airlines reported earnings of $0.43 per share in its latest quarterly report, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51, with a revenue decline of 2.1% year-over-year.
• The airline's board has approved a stock repurchase plan allowing for the repurchase of up to $2.00 billion in outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the stock's valuation.

Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,383 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3,538.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 326,129 shares of the airline's stock valued at $10,951,000 after acquiring an additional 317,166 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth about $530,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.4% during the 1st 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 lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.5% during the 2nd 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth about $313,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.11 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 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 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 business had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. Southwest Airlines's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. 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 research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.38.

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.

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