Primecap Management Co. CA Purchases Shares of 48,797,725 Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 48,797,725 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $2,509,179,000. Southwest Airlines accounts for 1.5% of Primecap Management Co. CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 9.97% of Southwest Airlines as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LUV. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 valued at $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth approximately $1,538,382,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $218,175,000 after acquiring an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $257,423,000 after acquiring an additional 244,891 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $216,472,000 after acquiring an additional 117,833 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $40.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $47.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LUV. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Profile

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.