Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 6,972 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 18.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,704 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 6,972 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 122.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,787 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 35.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,590 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.3% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,659 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.3%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.32 on Thursday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 48.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.54.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $7.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.30 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. The trade was a 11.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.