Swiss National Bank Has $14.14 Million Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 421,200 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.07% of Southwest Airlines worth $14,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LUV. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 78.6% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 370.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 22.1% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 35.7% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $30.78 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $32.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 46.64, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target (down from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 14,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,012.29. This trade represents a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.