Heartland Advisors Inc. Invests $6.56 Million in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 127,577 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $6,560,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $40.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $29.26 and a 52-week high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.53.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. 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, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

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

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.