Cibc World Market Inc. Acquires 214,092 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,916,003 shares of the airline’s stock after buying an additional 214,092 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $61,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,652,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the third quarter worth $2,010,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 8.3% in the second quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 127,218 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $4,150,000 after purchasing an additional 9,739 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 5.4% during the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 578,088 shares of the airline’s stock worth $18,447,000 after purchasing an additional 29,665 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 30.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,406,652 shares of the airline’s stock worth $45,632,000 after buying an additional 325,030 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $54.09 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $23.82 and a 52-week high of $54.70. The company has a market capitalization of $26.58 billion, a PE ratio of 64.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.20 and a 200-day moving average of $36.00.

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

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LUV. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $37.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays raised Southwest Airlines from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $34.00 to $56.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.92.

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.