Merit Financial Group LLC Invests $257,000 in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,658 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after buying an additional 9,504,201 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $107,359,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111,946 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,377,660 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $100,080,000 after acquiring an additional 46,110 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Southwest Airlines by 6,414.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 3,006,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $89,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,857 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,551,000. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Airlines news, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,203,920 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.83, for a total value of $35,912,933.60. Following the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Linda B. Rutherford sold 3,849 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.40, for a total value of $132,405.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,074,534.40. This trade represents a 4.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $32.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -458.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $33.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.28. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.58 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The airline reported $0.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.10. Southwest Airlines had a positive return on equity of 4.56% and a negative net margin of 0.06%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 0.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 26th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently -1,028.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.31.

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.