Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Purchased by Weiss Asset Management LP

Weiss Asset Management LP raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 52.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 161,040 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,122 shares during the quarter. Weiss Asset Management LP’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $6,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 577,326 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock worth $257,423,000 after acquiring an additional 244,891 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 2.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,763,154 shares of the airline’s stock worth $216,472,000 after acquiring an additional 117,833 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $172,038,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LUV shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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 note on Friday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.1%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $45.19 on Friday. 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 market capitalization of $22.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.49.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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. Analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Southwest Airlines News Roundup

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

Southwest Airlines Company 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.