Financial Partners Group LLC Has $1.51 Million Stock Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Financial Partners Group LLC lowered its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,644 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 508 shares during the quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pandora Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 67.8% in the 2nd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,448 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 78.6% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the airline’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of LUV stock opened at $32.52 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $23.82 and a one year high of $37.96.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The airline reported $0.43 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $7.30 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 6.27%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.2%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 109.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines

In other Southwest Airlines news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg acquired 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,012.29. The trade was a 11.78% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their price objective on 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. lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Southwest Airlines to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Five 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.38.

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.