UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Sells 3,721,809 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management has significantly reduced its stake in Southwest Airlines, selling 3,721,809 shares and resulting in a 74.4% decrease in ownership.
• Insider transactions saw directors purchasing a total of 4,845 shares between August 5th and August 6th, indicating potential confidence in the company's future.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Southwest Airlines, with price targets ranging from $26 to $40, reflecting diverse expectations for the stock's performance.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC reduced its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 74.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,278,535 shares of the airline's stock after selling 3,721,809 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.22% of Southwest Airlines worth $42,933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 122.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,787 shares of the airline's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 22.1% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,161 shares of the airline's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $31.69 on Monday. 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 50 day moving average price of $32.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

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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