Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies Lllp reduced its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. by 43.5% during the first quarter, now owning about 317,734 shares valued at approximately $10.67 million.
• Southwest Airlines announced a share repurchase plan allowing it to buy back up to $2 billion in shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The airline also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, with a payout ratio of 109.09%, suggesting potential concerns regarding future earnings.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp trimmed its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 43.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 317,734 shares of the airline's stock after selling 244,563 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned approximately 0.06% of Southwest Airlines worth $10,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 68,827 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,311,000 after purchasing an additional 4,544 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 20,762 shares of the airline's stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the period. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $13,432,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of Southwest Airlines 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 completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LUV shares. Wall Street Zen cut Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $33.06.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $31.69 on Tuesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $37.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $32.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.33. The company has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.02, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.19.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management 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. 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 is 109.09%.

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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