Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,658 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 82.1% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 61,430 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 27,700 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 82,679 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 6,721 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 16.4% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 81,845 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,342,000 after purchasing an additional 11,517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 62.2% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 28,643 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 10,984 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.6 %
LUV stock opened at $32.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -458.89, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.01 and a 200-day moving average of $30.28.
Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 26th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently -1,028.57%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
LUV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.31.
Insider Buying and Selling at Southwest Airlines
In other news, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total transaction of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total transaction of $35,912,933.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,912,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,787,192,261.40. This trade represents a 1.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.
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.
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