Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Raises Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 261.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,754 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,949 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LUV. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Nine research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.11.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $40.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.52 and a 200-day moving average of $41.28. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $28.98 and a 52 week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.45. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 46.45%.

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.