State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 5,370 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lessened its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,043 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 5,370 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Copperwynd Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the first quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 16,301 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.5% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,590 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 16,998 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,101 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, with a total value of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $710,029.32. This 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 through this link. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 14,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $32.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.98 billion, a PE ratio of 48.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.21. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.66 and a 200-day moving average of $31.54.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.