Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Bought by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,937 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,258,993 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $40,842,000 after purchasing an additional 18,270 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at $530,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,625 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.5% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 548,423 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $17,791,000 after purchasing an additional 23,381 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at $313,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

NYSE LUV opened at $32.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 49.48, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.82 and a 1 year high of $37.96.

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

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the airline to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HSBC lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $33.38.

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.