Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Position in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 615,600 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $31,654,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth $2,189,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southwest Airlines by 954.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 127,331 shares of the airline’s stock worth $4,784,000 after buying an additional 115,251 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 19.3% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 539,612 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $27,747,000 after buying an additional 87,146 shares during the period. Kercheville Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 111.7% in the fourth quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 129,524 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $5,497,000 after buying an additional 68,350 shares during the period. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its position in Southwest Airlines by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 39,437 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after acquiring an additional 28,172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

Southwest Airlines Stock Down 3.7%

Southwest Airlines stock opened at $39.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $47.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.56. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 1-year low of $29.26 and a 1-year high of $55.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The airline reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.42. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.78% and a return on equity of 14.15%. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is currently 44.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LUV. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Southwest Airlines from $47.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Southwest Airlines from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.55.

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.