Two Sigma Securities LLC Makes New $802,000 Investment in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Two Sigma Securities LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,593 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $802,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new position in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,509,179,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at about $1,538,382,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at about $234,872,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $172,038,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after buying an additional 2,626,853 shares in the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LUV has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.01.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE LUV opened at $37.69 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.15 and a 200-day moving average of $43.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.13. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $29.26 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its earnings results 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. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.17%.

Southwest Airlines Company 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.