Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 41.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 456,501 shares of the airline's stock after selling 320,338 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Southwest Airlines worth $15,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LUV. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 66.0% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 6,014,828 shares of the airline's stock valued at $202,219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,391,495 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,433,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2,857.9% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,013,657 shares of the airline's stock worth $34,079,000 after buying an additional 979,388 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 1.6% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, WS Management Lllp purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,172,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.2850 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.5950. 5,216,355 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,003,156. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $32.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.13.

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

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an "underperform" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Susquehanna increased their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Friday, July 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $33.06.

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.