SageGuard Financial Group LLC Purchases New Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

SageGuard Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 30,617 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LUV. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.36.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.2%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $52.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.98 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.22.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 46.45%.

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.