496,959 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Purchased by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 496,959 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $25,554,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted 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 during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted 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 during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 grew 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.8%

LUV opened at $40.71 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.42. Southwest Airlines Co. has a fifty-two week low of $29.26 and a fifty-two week high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The business’s revenue was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LUV shares. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.01.

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.