Versor Investments LP Acquires 12,174 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 26.2%, now holding 58,687 shares worth approximately $1.97 million.
• Southwest Airlines recently announced a $2.00 billion share buyback program, allowing repurchase of up to 9.4% of its shares, indicating potential undervaluation in the stock.
• The airline reported a lower than expected earnings for the last quarter, with earnings per share at $0.43, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51.

Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Free Report) by 26.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,687 shares of the airline's stock after buying an additional 12,174 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 3,538.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 326,129 shares of the airline's stock valued at $10,951,000 after purchasing an additional 317,166 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,625 shares of the airline's stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,625 shares of the airline's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 55,691 shares of the airline's stock valued at $1,872,000 after buying an additional 11,173 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 69,413 shares of the airline's stock worth $2,330,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 23,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% 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 Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock traded up $0.2850 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.5950. 5,216,355 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,003,156. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.87, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $7.24 billion for 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%. Southwest Airlines's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Southwest Airlines's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently 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.