Gregg A. Saretsky Purchases 3,345 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Stock

Key Points

• Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of Southwest Airlines stock at an average price of $30.03, increasing his total holdings to 23,644 shares valued at approximately $710,029.
• Southwest Airlines reported a quarterly earnings miss, with EPS of $0.43 compared to the expected $0.51, and a revenue of $7.24 billion, slightly below estimates.
• The company announced a $2.00 billion share repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 9.4% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock value.

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) 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 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 approximately $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV traded down $0.16 during trading on Thursday, reaching $29.56. The company had a trading volume of 6,303,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,995,563. The firm's fifty day moving average is $33.30 and its 200 day moving average is $31.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a PE ratio of 44.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.26. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $37.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.56.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%. The company's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines's payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Institutional Trading of Southwest Airlines

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Profund Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 6,400 shares of the airline's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $490,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,652,000. Oldfield Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Oldfield Partners LLP now owns 1,011,000 shares of the airline's stock worth $32,797,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at approximately $271,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LUV has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price target (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southwest Airlines to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" 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.

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