Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. decreased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,693 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 52,066 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $389,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459,235 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,663,000. Crake Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth approximately $33,738,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 315.3% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,247,837 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $40,480,000 after acquiring an additional 947,346 shares during the period. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $49.03.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $47.67 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.17. The stock has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 56.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12-month low of $23.82 and a 12-month high of $55.11.

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

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

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.