115,732 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Purchased by First National Bank of Omaha

First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 115,732 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $5,972,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the airline’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,148 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $843,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,063 shares of the airline’s stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,437 shares of the airline’s stock worth $682,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 19,268 shares of the airline’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LUV. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Zacks Research upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $42.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.66. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.14.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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 predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.