Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 20,320 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 27.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,909 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 20,320 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 8.0% in the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 6,738 shares of the airline’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 8,391 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth about $3,130,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines during the first quarter worth approximately $298,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors raised its position in Southwest Airlines by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors now owns 13,805 shares of the airline’s stock worth $519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $49.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $28.98 and a one year high of $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $24.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.01.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.17 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.58.

About Southwest Airlines

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.