MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases Shares of 9,323 Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 9,323 shares of Southwest Airlines Co. valued at approximately $313,000 during the first quarter, indicating institutional interest in the airline's stock.
• Southwest Airlines has announced a quarterly dividend payment of $0.18 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.3% despite a high payout ratio of 109.09%.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" from analysts, with a target price of $33.06, after several adjustments from various financial institutions.

MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,323 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $56,244,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $50,433,000. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.6% during the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 49,688,308 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,668,533,000 after purchasing an additional 788,255 shares during the last quarter. WS Management Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $20,172,000. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $18,163,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE:LUV traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.69. The stock had a trading volume of 10,395,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,763,064. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.02, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $37.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.35.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. Southwest Airlines's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $33.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res raised Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.