Signaturefd LLC Sells 1,620 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Signaturefd LLC trimmed its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 17.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,541 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,620 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3,538.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 326,129 shares of the airline’s stock worth $10,951,000 after acquiring an additional 317,166 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,101 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,081,622 shares of the airline’s stock worth $36,321,000 after purchasing an additional 36,822 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 26.0% during the first quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 11,644 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 2,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $32.33 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 48.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.54. 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) last announced its 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). Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. The company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict 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 initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky purchased 3,345 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. This represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays boosted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.31.

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.