NewEdge Advisors LLC Buys 115,251 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 954.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,251 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at $2,189,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 575,639 shares of the airline’s stock worth $23,774,000 after acquiring an additional 31,128 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 250.1% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 39,437 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares during the period. Kercheville Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 111.7% during the fourth quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 129,524 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,497,000 after acquiring an additional 68,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,924,407 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $147,440,000 after acquiring an additional 176,742 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $45.53 on Wednesday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $29.26 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.23 and its 200 day moving average is $44.58. The stock has a market cap of $22.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Southwest Airlines’s revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.45 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 given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

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.