Royal Bank of Canada Has $41.62 Million Holdings in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Royal Bank of Canada cut its position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) by 43.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,107,727 shares of the airline’s stock after selling 854,577 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $41,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LUV shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.0%

LUV stock opened at $44.98 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $46.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.38. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $28.98 and a 52-week high of $55.11. 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.The business had revenue of $8.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.49 EPS for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is 44.17%.

Southwest Airlines 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.