Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Shares Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 232.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,577 shares of the airline’s stock after purchasing an additional 75,260 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 100.6% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,347 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,303,000 after buying an additional 19,729 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 5.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 61,060 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,459 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 73.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the airline’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,408 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 47.4% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 307,602 shares of the airline’s stock worth $9,979,000 after acquiring an additional 98,986 shares during the last quarter. 80.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Performance

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $48.09 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $44.12. The stock has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $28.98 and a 1-year high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The airline reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. The firm had revenue of $7.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.46 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 2.83%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.350-0.650 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on LUV shares. Wall Street Zen raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 5th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $24.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Evercore increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.