Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Has $2.43 Million Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 66.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,008 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 30,296 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 180.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 28,157 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 18,106 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,021 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 3,317 shares during the last quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 81,699 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 5,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 21,209 shares of the airline’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 7,178 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $28.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.63.

Key Headlines Impacting Southwest Airlines

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Airlines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company set FY‑2026 adjusted EPS guidance of at least $4.00 (more than 300% above 2025), signaling a large profit ramp driven by its business transformation; management says momentum in bookings supports the outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: End of open seating and introduction of assigned seats plus new ancillary fees (bags, seat selection, extra legroom) are expected to materially boost unit revenues and margins — investors see this as a sustainable revenue lever. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS modestly beat estimates (EPS topped consensus) and operating profit improved YoY, which together with the guidance reduced near‑term execution concerns for many investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Revenue in the quarter trailed some expectations (mixed top‑line vs. estimates), so upside rests on management executing the revenue initiatives and sustaining rate trends. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are re‑rating and updating targets: some price targets were raised while ratings remain mixed — consensus targets still show dispersion, suggesting investor opinion is split on valuation vs. execution risk. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 EPS guidance (0.45) came in below some street estimates, creating a near‑term execution risk window even as full‑year guidance is strong. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual options activity showed heavy put buying around the report, indicating some traders hedged or bet on downside volatility despite the upbeat guidance. (No single article link available)

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 18.5%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $48.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $40.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.14. The stock has a market cap of $25.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.16. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $49.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.11%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is presently 110.77%.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.