46,339 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Purchased by iSAM Funds UK Ltd

iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 46,339 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $1,479,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 1.4% during the second quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,857 shares of the airline’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Southwest Airlines by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 14,285 shares of the airline’s stock worth $456,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,791 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 3,545 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,547 shares of the airline’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Southwest Airlines

Here are the key news stories impacting Southwest Airlines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying — Traders purchased roughly 49,224 LUV calls (about a 104% jump vs. typical daily call volume), which suggests short-term bullish speculative activity or hedging that can support the share price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation pieces highlight recent share weakness and longer-term gains — Coverage notes LUV has declined in the past month and 3 months, prompting fresh valuation discussion even as 1‑year returns remain strong; these analyses may attract bargain hunters or prompt more selling depending on investor view. Assessing Southwest Airlines (LUV) Valuation After Recent Share Price Weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Price-target and thematic pieces summarize street views for 2026 — Roundups of Wall Street price predictions and longer-term outlooks provide context but don’t move fundamentals immediately. Southwest Price Prediction: What Wall Street Thinks LUV Is Worth in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Redburn raised its price target to $35 but kept a Sell rating — mixed signal: a higher target is constructive while the Sell stance keeps downside narrative alive. Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) Target Increased to $35 at Redburn Despite Sell Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Southwest will end service at Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles — exits from two major airports shrink network reach and could reduce revenue or market share in those metros, raising near-term growth concerns. Southwest Airlines ends service to Chicago’s O’Hare and Washington’s Dulles airports Southwest Airlines to end service at O’Hare, Dulles
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades and lower earnings estimates — Jefferies cut its price target to $41 (Hold) and Zacks moved LUV from Strong‑Buy to Hold while trimming FY2028 EPS — these reduce analyst support and can pressure sentiment. Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) Price Target Lowered to $41.00 at Jefferies Financial Group Zacks.com
• Negative Sentiment: Oil spike and geopolitical risk — Coverage warns that oil returning toward $100/barrel amid the Iran conflict materially raises jet fuel costs and could compress margins across carriers; sector pain can drag LUV despite company-specific factors. Airline Stocks Were Pricing 2026 Like A Runway―Oil Just Made It A Cliff Edge Only 3 U.S. Airlines Can Remain Profitable at Current Oil Prices
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term selling pressure — multiple outlets noted shares sliding last week/month and premarket weakness tied to oil and supply concerns, which can amplify short-term volatility. Why Is Southwest Airlines Stock Sliding Thursday?

Southwest Airlines Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of LUV opened at $38.77 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $46.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 46.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on LUV shares. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $66.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Evercore raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.34.

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.