CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Purchases New Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,953,627 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $62,340,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. owned about 0.38% of Southwest Airlines as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after buying an additional 9,716,160 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $393,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,753,183 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $389,879,000 after acquiring an additional 1,459,235 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter valued at $41,663,000. Finally, Crake Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter worth about $33,738,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on LUV. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.29.

Trending Headlines about Southwest Airlines

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.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $41.09 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.84. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $23.82 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The company has a market cap 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 (NYSE:LUV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 6.18% and a net margin of 1.57%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 85.71%.

Southwest Airlines 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.