Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 662,243 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,403 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $22,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LUV. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 883 shares of the airline’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 acquired at an average cost of $30.03 per share, for a total transaction of $150,150.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,011 shares in the company, valued at $570,900.33. This trade represents a 35.69 % 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. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LUV has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Melius upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.54.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV stock opened at $33.58 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $31.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.56. The stock 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.92. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $23.58 and a 1 year high of $36.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

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.