Nordea Investment Management AB Acquires New Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 769,203 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $31,968,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 2,403.8% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 10,120,368 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $328,305,000 after purchasing an additional 9,716,160 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,335,167 shares of the airline’s stock worth $393,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753,183 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $62,340,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,218,086 shares of the airline’s stock worth $389,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,459,235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,663,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Southwest Airlines from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Southwest Airlines from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $19.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $59.00 to $56.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.25.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $40.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $46.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.07. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52 week low of $23.82 and a 52 week high of $55.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.98, a PEG ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.71%.

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.