Southwest Airlines Co. on Thursday registered to issue 12 million more shares for use in an incentive plan for employees, directors and advisers.
The stock covered in a registration filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission amounts to 1.6 percent of current shares.
The registration followed a vote Wednesday by shareholders to triple the size of the Dallas company's stock-incentive program by authorizing 12 million more shares on top of the original 6 million.
Southwest, the fifth-largest U.S. airline by traffic, has about 744 million shares, according to a recent filing.
In the past, the plan has only been used to grant 3.7 million stock options. Nearly one-third of those have gone to current executives, including 450,000 to Chairman and CEO Gary C. Kelly, and 170,000 and 165,000 to executive vice presidents Ron Ricks and Michael G. Van de Ven respectively, according to company filings.
Decisions about granting options or restricted stock are made by the board or a board committee.
Southwest shares fell 61 cents, or 5 percent, to close at $11.67. Shares of the four larger U.S. airlines fell by slightly larger percentages, as the broader market slumped on rising fears that Europe's debt crisis could delay a recovery in the global economy.
No comments:
Post a Comment