Monetta Financial Services Inc. Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Monetta Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 27,000 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,538,382,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after buying an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE:LUV opened at $41.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.61. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $29.26 and a 52 week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. 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 firm posted $0.43 EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.55.

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.