Free Trial

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Purchases 321,258 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines logo with Transportation background

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT increased its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,857,308 shares of the airline's stock after acquiring an additional 321,258 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines comprises about 3.4% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT owned 0.50% of Southwest Airlines worth $95,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 370.3% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,919 shares of the airline's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 22.1% during 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. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.7% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the airline's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group raised Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. 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 report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.75.

View Our Latest Stock Report on LUV

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,670 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $27.29 per share, with a total value of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $406,102.49. The trade was a 32.74% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded down $0.84 during trading on Monday, hitting $32.38. The stock had a trading volume of 6,058,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,016,349. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $33.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.32. The stock has a market cap of $18.45 billion, a PE ratio of 49.04, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.58 and a 12 month high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV)

Should You Invest $1,000 in Southwest Airlines Right Now?

Before you consider Southwest Airlines, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Southwest Airlines wasn't on the list.

While Southwest Airlines currently has a Reduce rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

(Almost)  Everything You Need To Know About The EV Market Cover

Looking to profit from the electric vehicle mega-trend? Enter your email address and we'll send you our list of which EV stocks show the most long-term potential.

Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.

Featured Articles and Offers

Recent Videos

5 Stocks to BUY NOW in August 2025
The $2.5B Merger No One Is Talking About
ALERT: Big Tech Earnings – Watch Before Wednesday

Stock Lists

All Stock Lists

Investing Tools

Calendars and Tools

Search Headlines