KPP Advisory Services LLC Cuts Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

KPP Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 15.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,063 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 1,529 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% in the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 1,258,993 shares of the airline’s stock worth $40,842,000 after purchasing an additional 18,270 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth about $530,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 10.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 63,625 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,137,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew 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 buying an additional 23,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 6.1%

Shares of LUV stock opened at $31.71 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $37.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $32.36 and its 200 day moving average is $31.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.21.

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. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.14% and a net margin of 1.38%.The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter. Research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, July 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the airline to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 109.09%.

Insider Activity at Southwest Airlines

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky bought 3,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the director owned 23,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $710,029.32. This trade represents a 16.48% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sarah Feinberg purchased 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $30.01 per share, for a total transaction of $45,015.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LUV. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” 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.