Oxbow Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,706 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on LUV. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. HSBC upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $24.40 to $36.10 in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $58.50 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. 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, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $49.55.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of LUV opened at $42.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.14. Southwest Airlines Co. has a one year low of $29.26 and a one year high of $55.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.66.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Southwest Airlines’s quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 44.17%.

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.