Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Stock Holdings Raised by Stance Capital LLC

Stance Capital LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 590.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 62,511 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,457 shares during the period. Stance Capital LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $1,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth about $248,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 3,625,754 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $115,698,000 after buying an additional 101,236 shares in the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,377,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $169,000. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $41.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.92, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines Co. has a twelve month low of $23.82 and a twelve month high of $55.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.84.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 85.71%.

Southwest Airlines News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Airlines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Broader sector strength: Delta and American raised revenue guidance and airlines rallied as demand appears to outweigh the fuel spike — a positive spillover for Southwest given industry-wide pricing power and capacity recovery. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: UBS retains a “buy” rating on LUV with a $59 price target (lowered), signaling analyst conviction that the shares have significant upside despite fuel pressure. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management commentary available — Southwest presented at the JPMorgan Industrials Conference; transcript may provide detail on network, costs and fuel hedging that investors will parse for near-term guidance credibility. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS and other firms cut estimates and price targets across U.S. airlines citing “significant uncertainty” around jet fuel — this is a sector headwind but also frames a potential valuation bottom for long-term investors. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry lobbying and operational risks: airline CEOs urged Congress to resolve a shutdown risk that could disrupt travel demand during a peak period; outcome affects near-term traffic. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target on LUV to $44 and moved to “equal weight,” signaling reduced upside from that shop and adding selling pressure from some institutional investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Network change: Southwest will stop serving Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles starting June 4 — could lower revenue from those markets and raises questions about capacity redeployment and unit revenue impact. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Customer backlash: longtime flyers are publicly criticizing changes to A-List benefits, a reputational issue that can affect loyalty and ancillary revenue trends if not addressed. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades/estimates: Zacks issued a negative earnings estimate for LUV, adding to the chorus of downward revisions that could pressure near-term sentiment. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LUV shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. 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 research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays raised shares of Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $34.00 to $56.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $48.00 to $41.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.29.

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.