Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 475.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,308 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,390 shares during the quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. now owns 889 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 41.1% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the airline’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of LUV stock opened at $33.58 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $31.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.56. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $23.58 and a 1-year high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The airline reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by $0.11. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. On average, research analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush bought 5,000 shares of Southwest Airlines stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.54.

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.