348,374 Shares in Southwest Airlines Co. $LUV Bought by PDT Partners LLC

PDT Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 348,374 shares of the airline’s stock, valued at approximately $17,913,000. Southwest Airlines makes up 0.9% of PDT Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LUV. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines in the second quarter worth $1,538,382,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the second quarter valued at about $234,872,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter worth about $172,038,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth about $55,320,000. 80.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Airlines Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:LUV opened at $40.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $47.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.33. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $29.26 and a 12-month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Southwest Airlines had a return on equity of 14.15% and a net margin of 2.78%.Southwest Airlines’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous 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, equities analysts anticipate that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s payout ratio is presently 44.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on Southwest Airlines from $60.00 to $54.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $56.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Southwest Airlines from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Southwest Airlines currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.