Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 1,136 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,498 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Copperwynd Financial LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the first quarter. Copperwynd Financial LLC now owns 16,301 shares of the airline’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 76,719 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 8,590 shares of the airline’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 16,998 shares of the airline’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,161 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of LUV opened at $33.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.45. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 1.43%. On average, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 109.09%.

Southwest Airlines declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased 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 in the company, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the purchase, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.