Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Sells 404,256 Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 74.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 140,208 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 404,256 shares during the period. Southwest Airlines accounts for approximately 1.3% of Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $5,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 40,200,530 shares of the airline’s stock worth $1,661,488,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626,853 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 43.7% during the third 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 13.6% during the third 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 period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 9.2% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,837,197 shares of the airline’s stock worth $218,175,000 after purchasing an additional 577,326 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,228,475 shares of the airline’s stock worth $257,423,000 after purchasing an additional 244,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LUV has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $27.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.21.

Southwest Airlines Price Performance

LUV stock opened at $46.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.63 and a 200-day moving average of $42.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 12 month low of $28.98 and a 12 month high of $55.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.15.

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. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The company had revenue of $7.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.13) earnings per share. Southwest Airlines’s 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.45%.

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.