OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,204 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LUV. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $257,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,975 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 6,759 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,135 shares of the airline’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,770 shares of the airline’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in Southwest Airlines by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 2,190,255 shares of the airline’s stock worth $73,636,000 after purchasing an additional 133,366 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg A. Saretsky acquired 3,670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.29 per share, for a total transaction of $100,154.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,881 shares in the company, valued at $406,102.49. This trade represents a 32.74% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director C. David Cush acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,900.33. This represents a 35.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 16,670 shares of company stock valued at $464,944 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of LUV opened at $32.47 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $29.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.58 and a 12-month high of $36.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.50 billion, a PE ratio of 45.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.18. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The airline reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.18) by $0.05. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 5.77% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.36) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 18th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 84.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LUV. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $34.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $36.00 to $27.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Argus raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Melius raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price objective (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.59.

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.