Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC Has $1.22 Million Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. by 56% in the first quarter, resulting in a stock position valued at approximately $1.22 million.
• Southwest Airlines announced a $2 billion stock buyback program, which allows the company to repurchase up to 9.4% of its outstanding shares, indicating management believes the shares might be undervalued.
• The airline will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share on September 24th, representing an annualized yield of 2.3%, despite a current payout ratio of 109.09%.

Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 56.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,296 shares of the airline's stock after selling 46,143 shares during the period. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 122.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,787 shares of the airline's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 370.3% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,919 shares of the airline's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the purchase, the director owned 23,644 shares in the company, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.9%

LUV stock opened at $31.5950 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $32.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.82 and a 1-year high of $37.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.26.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. HSBC cut Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $33.06.

Southwest Airlines 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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