North Dakota State Investment Board Invests $2.19 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 52,968 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $2,189,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 100.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,303,000 after buying an additional 19,729 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock worth $2,050,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline’s stock worth $185,000 after buying an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 47.4% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline’s stock worth $9,979,000 after buying an additional 98,986 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of LUV opened at $38.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $28.98 and a 12-month high of $55.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $39.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.12.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $43.00 to $44.00 in a report on Friday, April 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.11.

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.