DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Boosts Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,953 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 67.8% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 122.3% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. This represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 14,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,012.29. The trade was a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $32.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The airline reported ($0.38) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.39% and a net margin of 1.38%. Research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the airline to purchase 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.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 110.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of several recent research reports. HSBC downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $33.38.

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.