Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by New England Research & Management Inc.

Key Points

• New England Research & Management Inc. reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines by 33.5%, selling 9,950 shares, and now holds 19,757 shares valued at $641,000.
• Southwest Airlines announced a $2 billion stock buyback program and disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.18, with a current payout ratio of 109.09%.
• The airline's recent quarterly earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $0.43, falling short of the expected $0.51, with revenue declining 2.1% year-over-year.

New England Research & Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,757 shares of the airline's stock after selling 9,950 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.'s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,950 shares of the airline's stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 5,021 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 44,930 shares of the airline's stock worth $1,511,000 after acquiring an additional 7,137 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth $209,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 95.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 93,717 shares of the airline's stock worth $3,151,000 after acquiring an additional 45,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 86,812 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 10,929 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $31.41 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $32.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.36. The company has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.19. 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 fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $37.96.

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 company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price 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. The trade was a 11.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. HSBC downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.38.

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.

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