King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 20,000 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 47.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,793 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $61,140,000 after acquiring an additional 214,092 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth $1,652,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at $2,010,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.3% during the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,218 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after purchasing an additional 9,739 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,447,000 after purchasing an additional 29,665 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $52.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $25.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.41 and a 200 day moving average of $37.17. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $57.50 in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.14.

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.