Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.7%, selling 508,579 shares, and now owns approximately 11.96% of the company, valued at about $2.29 billion.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings on Southwest Airlines stock, with seven analysts recommending a sell, nine suggesting a hold, and four advising a buy.
• Southwest Airlines announced a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share and initiated a $2.00 billion stock repurchase program signifying possible management confidence in the stock's valuation.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,145,366 shares of the airline's stock after selling 508,579 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.96% of Southwest Airlines worth $2,288,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 370.3% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,919 shares of the airline's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the airline's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 5.8%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $30.75. 12,196,428 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,471,642. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The stock's fifty day moving average is $33.07 and its 200 day moving average is $31.15. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.15 billion, a PE ratio of 46.59, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.26.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 109.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $710,029.32. The trade was a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $23.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.