Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Bought by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Key Points

• Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.5%, owning 1,258,993 shares valued at approximately $40.8 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Southwest Airlines recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.2%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 109.09%.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Southwest Airlines, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.38, influenced by recent upgrades and downgrades from several investment firms.

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,258,993 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 18,270 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.22% of Southwest Airlines worth $40,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 788,255 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,602,939 shares of the airline's stock valued at $120,987,000 after purchasing an additional 136,410 shares during the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 12.7% in the 1st quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,857,308 shares of the airline's stock valued at $95,948,000 after purchasing an additional 321,258 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at $56,244,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at $50,433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Susquehanna upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $32.52 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $31.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.52. 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 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $37.96. The company has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.19.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The company's revenue 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 fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the airline to repurchase 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.

Insider Transactions at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, 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 price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at $427,012.29. The trade was a 11.78% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

About Southwest Airlines

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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