South Dakota Investment Council Sells 68,148 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

South Dakota Investment Council cut its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 38.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,926 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 68,148 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $4,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 915 shares of the airline’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 21,148 shares of the airline’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,063 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,437 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Southwest Airlines by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,726 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Argus cut their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of Southwest Airlines stock opened at $45.59 on Friday. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1 year low of $28.98 and a 1 year high of $55.11. The firm has a market cap of $22.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a PEG ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.53 and a 200 day moving average of $44.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 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.