NFJ Investment Group LLC Takes Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 238,457 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $12,261,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LUV. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on LUV shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. HSBC upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

LUV stock opened at $39.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $47.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.56. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The company has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 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.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

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.