NEOS Investment Management LLC Purchases 8,712 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,225 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,712 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 46.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,082,719 shares of the airline’s stock worth $932,894,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504,201 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 608.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,623,333 shares of the airline’s stock worth $107,359,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111,946 shares in the last quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $85,262,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,541,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,653,945 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,308,146,000 after buying an additional 426,878 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV opened at $33.58 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.54. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.58 and a twelve month high of $36.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.63, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director C. David Cush acquired 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, with a total value of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,900.33. The trade was a 35.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LUV shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $31.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.