National Bank of Canada FI Sells 2,470,888 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI significantly reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines by 87.0%, selling over 2.4 million shares and retaining just 369,641 shares worth approximately $12.4 million.
• Southwest Airlines reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings of $0.43 per share, falling short of the $0.51 expected by analysts, alongside a revenue decline of 2.1% year-over-year.
• The Board of Directors at Southwest Airlines announced a $2.00 billion stock repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back up to 9.4% of its shares, indicating confidence in its stock's valuation.

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 87.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 369,641 shares of the airline's stock after selling 2,470,888 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of Southwest Airlines worth $12,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWC Advisors LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 13,310 shares of the airline's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 16,301 shares of the airline's stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76,719 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 16,998 shares of the airline's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LUV shares. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. HSBC downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. 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 research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.06.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $30.78. 5,811,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,871,958. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 46.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $37.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $33.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.15.

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 (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 business had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

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.