First Command Advisory Services Inc. Sells 590 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

First Command Advisory Services Inc. cut its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,503 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 590 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Pandora Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sarah Feinberg bought 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $30.01 per share, with a total value of $45,015.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,229 shares in the company, valued at $427,012.29. This represents a 11.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $100,450.35. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock opened at $32.16 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $37.96. The firm has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.72.

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

Southwest Airlines announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the airline to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LUV. HSBC lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Saturday. 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target 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.