Gibbs Wealth Management Raises Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Gibbs Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 86.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,879 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,874 shares during the quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $172,038,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $143,450,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,320,000. Finally, Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd grew its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd now owns 2,800,000 shares of the airline’s stock worth $115,724,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,000 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Southwest Airlines News

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

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Southwest Airlines to $60 from $58.50 and reiterated an outperform rating, signaling confidence in further upside after the company’s earnings beat. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays kept a buy rating on Southwest Airlines, reinforcing the bullish view from analysts following the airline’s latest quarter. Barclays article
• Positive Sentiment: Southwest reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.94, well above estimates, and record quarterly revenue, showing improved earnings power and solid demand. Yahoo Finance report
• Positive Sentiment: Several earnings recaps highlighted stronger fares, commercial gains, and margin expansion, suggesting the company’s transformation efforts are starting to show through in results. Zacks report

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. HSBC raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.1%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $45.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.29. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.250-4.250 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 0.500-0.750 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

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.