Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 10,051 Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased 10,051 shares of Southwest Airlines Co. ($LUV) during the second quarter, with the investment valued at approximately $326,000.
• As of now, institutional investors own 80.82% of Southwest Airlines stock, and numerous firms have been adjusting their stakes in the airline recently.
• Southwest Airlines declared a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share and initiated a $2.00 billion share repurchase plan, indicating a belief that their shares are undervalued.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,051 shares of the airline's stock, valued at approximately $326,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 67.8% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted 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 buying an additional 983 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Susquehanna upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.38.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $33.64 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.44. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $37.96. The company has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%.The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio is 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,029.32. This represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of the firm'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 acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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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